Emerald Spring Green Tea

I liked this one a bit more upon second acquaintance. Last time I tried it, I’d been drinking quite a lot of powerful, strongly-flavoured teas at around the same time, and I think that affected my perception of this one quite a bit. It just didn’t stand out much in comparison. Today, I’ve mostly been drinking quieter, more gentle teas; primarily straight whites and oolongs.

In comparison, this green has a bit more about it. It still reminds me very much of white tea, and it is more subtle than other greens I’ve tried. The artichoke flavour is really distinctive, however, and pleasingly unusual. I love artichokes, but I feel like it’s a flavour I rarely encounter in tea. The buttery, smooth green bean flavour that ends the sip is equally pleasant, if more familiar.

I quite enjoy how this one sits somewhere between a white and a green, with the sweet water, hay, and honey leading the way into the vegetal flavours. It’s something I haven’t come across many (maybe any?) times before, and so I’m going to appreciate this one for its differences instead of complaining about its lack of similarity.

I had a bunch of this for some reason, so I decided to brew some up and see why.

The leaves are light, large, and smell of dried flowers with grassy high tones. I placed a fair amount in my kyusu and brewed away. The taste is very sweet but thin. I get the prominent green bean note along with some light florals. This was a nice tea, and it was easy to relax with; however, the brew is much to thin.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRLg9rDgaRK/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

From the Regional Group Buy. I brewed it with cooled hot water from work (just feeling it, no temperature gauge), loose leaf tea bag, and a coffee mug.

A nice grassy light green tea. Very smooth and not bitter at all.

Sipdown (230)!

Finished this one off on the bus ride/walk home.

I agree with my first tasting note that the main flavour of this one seems to be green bean. However, I think these was also a bit of a buttery/artichoke flavour too which I don’t see as something I noted during my first tasting of it. The finish is still nutty, kind of like a Dragonwell. I don’t taste the smoke note I observed last time.

It’s interesting how there are some consistencies, but not across the board.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS7xudghUsM&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=105

From the Regional Group Buy.

Tried this with Western brewing first and failed – I under-leafed despite following the directions. I had a better time with a gongfu session, using a ceramic gaiwan. Steeping times: 10 seconds, 15, 20, 30, 45; 1 minute, 2, etc.

The dry leaf smells lightly vegetal and hay-like. The wet leaf aroma is stronger, smelling vegetal and buttery, with notes of soybean and edamame. The liquor is clear and very pale, barely green. Having a medium body, it feels bright and clean. The taste didn’t undergo any evolution throughout the session. The flavors were consistent: beans, edamame and buttery asparagus. Texture is slightly thick. The sweet, vegetal aftertaste lingers for minutes.

Emerald Spring reminds me of Mao Feng. Good quality. I enjoyed this, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase more. It tastes nice though it didn’t wow me.

This steeped out so light that I wasn’t sure there was going to be any flavor to the brew—a light yellowish green. Though the flavor itself is light and refreshing, it’s stronger than the color would lead me to believe.

It’s hard to pin this one down. It tastes green and yellow at the same time—partially dried grass and hay? The easiest flavor to pick out is the buttery bean flavor that I associate with gyokuro, but it’s not as intense a flavor.

This is a very good tea, but I would say that there are better out there.

Smells hayish. Westren 175F
1 min- strong pea, slightly sweet. Pea very strong flavor. Infused tea almost clear, mouth coating. Green bean soybean
1 min- umami, reminds me of gyokuro, but less good.
This tea was a little too much veg. 78