Sweet Dew Gan Lu

Sipdown, 187. This sample comes to me thanks to Ellen!

I decided a wanted a simple green tea for the late afternoon. I totally winged it with the steeping parameters on this one; since I had slightly more leaf than I would typically use I checked it after 1 minute of steeping, then decided I wanted a little more and added 30 seconds. This was a pleasant green tea. It was slightly nutty by overally pretty green and leafy. Somehow not in quite a cooked greens way, though, more like fresh kale. I didn’t get any sweetness, though I admit I did expect some from the name, but I still definitely enjoyed the cup.

I like this tea a lot. I don’t love this tea. I see this tea as a very high quality green tea with a subtle flavor to it.

To me the flavor seemed almost nutty, but it was very hard to notice. There wasn’t much in the way of vegetal flavor, and as Teafreak states this is a tea for someone with a very advanced palate who is able to realize the subtle flavor.

I wouldn’t go as far to say that I wouldn’t let a beginner to green tea try this tea, I would just rather them try something else with more flavor and sweetness first.

To me the flavor is nutty but yet sort of metallic in nature, not in a bad way, just the same as a lot of really fresh Chinese green tea in my opinion.

The tea could grow on me and I will definitely drink it again soon.

The directions on the bag stated to brew it with 1 heaping teaspoon per 6 oz of water. I chose to use 2 heaping teaspoons plus 3/4 of a teaspoon for 16 oz of water which is the customary amount of water I use when brewing so either my wife can have a cup or I can have two instead having to re-brew so quickly.

The first steep I did as the directions stated and steeped for two minutes. The second I steeped for three to three and a half minutes. The third I steeped for about 5. The tea doesn’t really hold up all that well to more than two steepings as far as I gather.

Another thing I want to note is that the leaves are really hairy. The hair is a really fine hair, so fine that when i took the teaspoon out of the bag the hairs were sticking to the spoon due to the static electricity. They reminded me of iron filings and when I smelled the tea I think i got some of the fine hairs in my nose…lol

I think I’ve had this tea for over 2 years now. Definitely less fresh than it was before. =/ But still nice. All those years in my unair-conditioned dorm room probably weren’t so nice to it >_<

The tea makes the lightest brew that I have ever seen! It has a very subtle, sweet taste that is delicious for those who have an advanced palette, but I wouldn’t recommend this for those who are new to green tea.

Meng Ding Gan Lu or “Sweet Dew” definitely belongs to one of my Chinese green favourites, this high grade tea needs a special care when being prepared, IMO, might taste a little strange (somewhat sweet-bitterish at first), a palette of tastes later develops. I prefer preparing it with Gongfu style, 4-6g / 100ml, first two infusions 20-30s with water rather colder, 65-70 °C. It is a delicate tea and might evoke many forgotten memories, I wouldn’t recommend it to green tea beginners though.