Imperial Green

Aloha. Mac nut honey and poi toast for breakfast. Without knowing what I was drinking (this is a sample so there are few things on the package). Very visibly a dragonwell/longjing when I opened the packet. The dry aroma is oh so nice! A bit of vegetal notes here, some cream there, and stone fruits all around. Steamed peas. Adzuki beans A bit of astringey but nothing too mouth-numbing. The kids have awakened so it is time to go.

Nutty, roasted aroma, one of the best long jing i had.

A March 2017 harvest from Xinchang, Zhejiang. A deliciously fresh and somewhat savory green tea.

I heard a lot about this tea and was very curious to try it. So I ordered two packages. I tried a lot of different Long Jing teas before. Some directly from China, some from local distributors. Price range between 15 – 25 € per 100g. The tea from Meileaf is rather expensive.

The first steep was overwhelming. It was very distinct, very special, very tasty. Others talked about it already, nothing else to add. Highest leaf quality.
Disappointment comes at latest with the third steep. The taste disappears almost completely. This makes me wonder why? Is this tea scented?

This tea is not suited for long Gong Fu Cha sessions. Not only because it’s too expensive for only two steepings, it’s also very dissatisfying. This is the first tea I ever tried, that looses taste so quickly.

Upside: Very interesting nutty taste
Downside: Holds taste only for the first two steepings. Third steep, almost no taste at all.

Bottom line: I prefer high quality Long Jing teas, with a rather “normal” taste, but on a very high level, good leaf quality and a long lasting taste. This tea has an unsusual taste, you may like it. But he can’t hold it, which seems like a fraud.

Creamy, almond, pine nuts. Light body with windy aroma.

7th Tea rate

SEASON: Spring 2016 (March 20th)
CULTIVAR: Xiao Ye
ORIGIN: Zhejiang, China
PICKING: Bud and 2 leaves
ELEVATION: 600m

Brewed Western Style 3gr in 300ml @ 80degrees c for 2 minutes then 60 second increments.

1st Steep

Pale green tea.
Aroma is light kale.
Taste is light kale, quite nutty with a little wood.

2nd Steep

Slightly darker green
Aroma has more of an hazelnut touch to it.
Taste is a little more rounded with the same flavours as the first Steep.

3rd steep.

It’s all starting to lose its vibrancy.

Excellent great tea. Beautiful toasted nut and fresh grass aroma. This was the tea I used as my introduction to gong fu style brewing and is still my favourite green tea as well as one of my top 5 teas in general. I brew it at a low temperature.

Beautiful astringency with fresh grassy notes and nutty, toasted finish. If brewed with colloer water it really brings out the umami and freshness of the leaf. A beautiful example of Long Jing.