Premium Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea

Hands down, best long jing on the planet. No smokiness or bitter chestnut, just mellow toastiness with a light chestnut aroma that reveals a floral, perhaps orchid, aftertaste . And the price is great to boot! Viva la Teavivre.

*tip: buy copious quantities in the spring.

Backlogging (so, based almost entirely on my notes)

Experience buying from Teavivre http://steepster.com/places/2857-teavivre-online—

Age of leaf: advertised as spring 2011. Received fall 2011, brewed up days later.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Looks and smells like quality leaf: deep green color; fresh, nutty aroma.

Brewing guidelines: 7 really big tsp, 6 cups of water. I went a little hotter than my standard green tea temps based on what they recommended on their website. Loose in glass Bodum pot, Stevia added.
……….1st: <180, 1’
……….2nd: >180. 1.5
……….3rd: 190, 2’
……….4th: >190, 2.5

Color and aroma of tea liquor: Smells fresh and vegetal; standard Dragonwell color.

Flavor of tea liquor: Great flavor that any good Dragonwell seems to be known for: sweet and nutty. Little flavor on the forth.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Looked and smelled fresh. Lots of budsets, a number of whole leaves and buds, and a few stems, and brown leaves, and two flower stem/buds (I don’t know what else to call them). Quality leaf.

Value: good price for the quality of this Dragonwell (less than $4/oz).

Overall: This is a great Dragonwell. It’s been awhile since I drank it, so I don’t know what else to write, other than I was expecting much from this tea (based on the reviews), and it met my expectations. If you like Dragonwell, it is worth buying.

Absolutely delicious Dragonwell, and a premium grade at that! I had never tried a Dragonwell before, to my recollection. The leaves were quite big and bright green, which I love. A few tsp in the gaiwan provided several infusions; I think I stopped at around 7. The taste was sooo nutty and fresh! Definitely the nuttiest green tea I have had the pleasure of trying. I’m hoarding the small bit I have left.

Thank you TeaVivre for the sample :)

I’ve had Adagio’s dragonwell before but it simple can’t lay a hand on this. This is only my second dragonwell but wow . . . . The smell is like roasted nuts and orchids. The liquor is a nice light yellow and the taste fills the entire mouth and this tea is very creamy. Highly recommended! will be buying more!

Part 2 of 3 of my Teavivre 2013 Long Jing Smackdown. Spring samples courtesy of the generous Angel over at Teavivire. I cross reference the 3 types of teas I received in their respective tasting notes, so if you’re really curious you might want to check them out for a more full account.

Part 1 – “Organic Nonpareil Ming Qian Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea”
Part 2 – “Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea”

Both can be found in my Tea Log — http://steepster.com/markballou

This Long Jing had not impressed me as much in 2012, losing out to follow up orders of the Organic Superfine version. 2013 though is a pleasant surprise. I’m immediately greeted by an unexpected dry leaf, nice, not on par with some of the shapeliness of the highest quality Long Jings, but surprisingly uniform and pleasing to watch hydrate in my 10oz double wall tall glass tumbler. Broken leaf is minimal and there’s a small amount of white clump. The leaf color is greener than I’ve come to look for when evaluating Long Jings; something about young teas not developing as much chlorophyll, having more theanine and a tendency towards a lighter green color. Upon opening the package you can smell the fresh, bright, lively aroma immediately.

I’m impatient and don’t let my water cool to 175˚F as recommended by Teavivre but bully my way into this tea at approximately 190˚ (the water temp in the prep details is for my later side by side comparison). I’m not completely uncivilized and follow my tried and true Long Jing brewing protocol minus the glass warming stage:

http://goo.gl/6HBZf

I first note the liqueur is vibrant yellow-green, followed by an initial taste impression of “juicy.”

This is a wow. I’m not hit with complexity here, but overall satisfaction. Where I’m often impressed with a multidimensional profile, here it’s not about that. It’s a broader experience. This tea is tolerant, not going all bitter with the water being so hot. I’ve gone through 5 steeps of this tea and it never went all swampy and flat on me like many of the Long Jings I’ve had before. The color got less vibrant and lost it’s green color, favoring the yellow tones.

In my side by side comparison the Premium did not fair as well, and contrary to when I steeped a larger quantity of leaf, by the 4th and fifth steep it had indeed gone somewhat flat. It still never did go swampy, just was kinda void.

If you’re not all about Organic, then I’d say this is a good value and is the one I’m tempted to buy in quantity.

I’ve reviewed this tea before, but this is an update on the Spring 2013 batch:
The long flattened dry Dragonwell leaf is a beautiful bright green color, with a strong, fresh toasted vegetal scent.
The steeped leaves open full and fast, clearly displaying their paired tip leaf & 1st leaf. The smell of the tea’s steam is vegetal, roasted, nutty almost porridge-like. The spring 2013 batch doesn’t disappoint. Teavivre’s is still the best dragonwell I’ve tasted. Nutty, slightly roasted, slightly vegetal, but deliciously smooth. Last year I ordered three 100g bags late in the year and finished all. It’s my everday/all day and never tire of it tea. I’ve found the leaves very forgiving of temperature and steep time (It wonn’t burn or taste off.) A tasty affordable tea for everyday use. A very distinct, bold green, satisfying even to those lovers of stronger more oxidized teas.

This smells so much like a Japanese green! I love it! It tastes like it too. Yum. Seaweedy and delicious. It’s buttery and smooth. I think this is from the new season, too. The leaves looked really green and were very fragrant.

Wonderful Chinese green tea! Absolutely no bitterness! Mild astringency if brewed hotter (180F); none if brewed cooler (160 F). Will certainly be buying more of this tea!

Dry leaf: Toast, popcorn.
Wet leaf: Same.
Taste: Buttermilk, artichoke, toast.

Samurai TTB #51

Another standout green tea from the TTB! Smooth and sweet with a mild nutty flavor and a buttery finish. This one is staying with me!

Good morning from the west coast.  

A gentle green tea that can be had upon waking without causing an upset stomach. I enjoyed the entire sample from tea-sipper over the course of last week as grandpa-style brews before eating breakfast.  Clean, sweet, beany-vegetal, nutty and toasty as long jing is known for.  Impressions of cream, grain and apricot. Never astringent.  It did, I think from the amount of loose trichomes, tear up my mouth a bit.  I remember having that issue with long jing in the past. The effect on my mouth cleared up after 2 days of sipping.  The calming aroma and flavor more than made up for that effect.

Thank you, tea-sipper :)

The garden is fully planted. Between the perennial growth and annual plantings, we have:

mandarin orange, lemon, loquats (too young to flower), pomegranate, pineapple guava, strawberries, blueberries, grapevines, honeydew, watermelon, avocado, native currant, quince, banana (it flowers but never fruits)
mints, parsley, thyme, oregano, bay tree, thai basil, cilantro, sage, borage, lemon balm, chamomile, lavender
chives, garlic, leeks, green onion, bulb onions, turmeric, ginger
arugula, chard, amaranth, bok choi, artichokes, fennel
yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, pole beans, beans for drying
sunflowers, roses, jasmine, honeysuckle

And those are just the edibles with multiple varieties of many plants. I don’t even know the extent of our flowers and succulents. I do have 8 or 9 Bay Area native trees and shrubs I’ll be planting today.