Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea

This was a free sample provided for me by TeaVivre – thank you so much for your generosity!

Preparation notes: Around 3 tsp. of tea leaves in 500 ml. water at the below parameters, with no additives.

Dry Leaf: Dark green and very thin, like pine needles. There were leaves and bud pairs interspersed throughout and it smelled very clean and floral.

Steeped Leaf: The floral characteristics were still evident after steeping, but with a nutty overtone – and there’s a brownish tint to the pale green liquor that reminds me even more of nuts. It’s not a roasted nutty note like with genmaicha, however – maybe more of raw walnuts or pecans?

The texture is buttery and smooth, and there is no bitterness at all in the taste. This makes me think that it could probably be quite forgiving if the tea were oversteeped. There is some grassy flavor in the tea itself, but it is a sweet grassy flavor, not overpoweringly vegetal.

Overall: This and the Dragonwell are probably my favorite greens from TeaVivre so far – and this would be the one I recommend to anyone who prefers a green tea on the less vegetal side, or someone who is just starting out with greens and needs a wide margin of error as far as preparation goes, and a gentler introduction to the flavor profile. It is definitely going on my shopping list!

I must admit that I botched this yesterday by not using enough leaf, which resulted in an almost flavorless brew. So this time I used 2 tsp for 8oz and steeped for an outrageously long time to account for its mildness. The liquor was still a very pale yellow so I was worried it would be weak once again. But no, this time it packed a lot of flavor! It tasted rich and every sip a bit different; some more vegetal, others indulgently buttery, others slightly nutty. And no bitterness, even after my errantly long steep. A few minutes later I realized I had gulped it all down in record time, which caused me to sadly gaze at my empty cup hoping it would magically refill. So definitely a winner.

Tea was okay but very too light for me. Those with a palette for extremely light flavors may enjoy this far more. It was decent though and I enjoyed it.

Thank you Teavivre for this sample

Very good green tea that was smooth on the palate, with very subtle peach-like flavors ;)

Ditto about making a placeholder so I can log this properly later as I enjoyed it tonight but am dead tired…

I love how the more you steep it the creamier the texture gets—I’m a big fan of the smoothness of huang shan mao fengs. The flavor is nutty and sweet, and gets more floral upon resteep. I think for me, dragon wells in general are more immediately satisfying/gratifying and straightforward than HSMFs but HSMFs have a nuance and gradually unfolding loveliness that is, in the right mood/context, more enchanting. I really like both, hooray.

Sample sipdown! I’m slowly getting through all my samples/swaps…there are way more than I thought I had. I’ll get there eventually!

The leaves of this one are so pretty. Long, twisted, and deep green. Once the steep, the green becomes more vibrant and the leaves unfurl a bit – so pretty to watch.

The smells I’m getting from this are delicious. Dry, the scent is slightly vegetal, slightly floral, with a crisp/fresh aspect. There are also slight butter notes present. Once brewed, these scents morph a bit. I’m getting a much stronger buttery vegetal note – smooth vegetal, though, not grass (more like a sweet spinach smell). The floral notes are also still present, though not as prominent. It’s a sweet, fresh smelling cuppa and I can’t wait to sip it!

Taste-time: So, I may let this one cool down a bit more, but as of right now I’m getting a creamy mouthfeel, stronger floral notes, and some light vegetal notes at both the front and back of the sip. The sweetness is still there, but not as evident as it was in the smell – not bad, just a fact. There is also something cooling about this tea, almost like spearmint. It’s very slight, and most of the time unnoticeable… but the cooling effect is present with each sip. It’s interesting, in a good way!

As it cools more, I’m also getting a bit of an earthy, rock-ish (I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone, but its the only way I can describe it) taste – it blends nicely with the other flavors. The sweet taste has emerged a little more at this cooler temp, which is what I was hoping for. The floral taste is still the strongest, which is fine. It isn’t a perfumy floral taste, but a natural one; makes it easier to tolerate, and in fact it may even be enjoyable. =)
It is also less creamy. The thickness of the mouthfeel has diminished some. Interesting, as usually I find it the opposite.

Crisp, fresh, floral, and smooth. That’s how I would describe this one. Very tasty. Can’t wait to compare this to my Butiki Huang Shan Mao Feng… a few more samples down and I might be able to swing opening the package!
Green Tea WIN!

Uh oh…I think I already messed up the preparation of this tea. I’m not sure I used enough leaf. The liquor is almost clear! Clear!!

The aroma of the dry leaves was great: soft, clean, not overly grassy. The dry leaves themselves were a long, thin, crispy, mixture of green and yellow leaves and stems. The brewed tea aroma is very very soft, a little too soft. Again, probably because I didn’t measure the leaf correctly. I hate when I mess up brewing a new tea. It makes me not even want to write a note about it.

But here we go anyway. I apologize for my incompetence in advance. I’ll add a little more leaf to the second steeping and let you know how that turns out. This first cup is surprisingly good, even though it’s a little watery. I can tell that this is fantastic tea if brewed correctly.

Okay, second cup! I steeped this one for 2 minutes 45 seconds at 176 degrees. The liquor is still basically clear, but the flavor is stronger now. For some reason, this tea reminds me of the way cotton candy melts in your mouth. It’s sweet, but not too much so. This must be what people call umami. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced a texture like this in a drink. Simply exquisite.

This is my favorite green tea from Teavivre so far, although the Silver Jasmine Green Tea (Mo Li Yin Hao) is a pretty close second.

This is a nice delicate green – it’s a little bit floral and a little bit vegetal (spinach, more than grass or seaweed) and maybe just very faintly nutty. And I got four solid steeps out of the leaves – the later steeps were more vegetal, but without even approaching the point where I start feeling like I’m drinking leftover spinach-cooking water. I’ve really been enjoying Chinese greens lately, and this is no exception. Thanks to whoever gave me this sample – I’m 99% sure it was either Nicole_Martin or Fuzzy_Peachkin.

Thanks to Teavivre for this sample!

I’m not the biggest green tea drinker, but this is a new favorite of mine. It’s sweet, fresh, light, and crisp. All the things one usually seeks out in a green tea with the addition of some nice oolong-y characteristics and a basic flavor framework that reminds me of a dragonwell. The leaves are an awesome shade of vivid green and smell very dragonwell-like: oats and nuts and potent veggies. I haven’t decided whether I prefer gong fu or Western style with this one yet, but each has it’s pros.

Gong fu style
This allows for a huge change in flavors from steep to steep, but getting more than three solid steeps is rare. But let me tell you, those three steeps are pretty awesome. It’s like a fifteen-steep session condensed to one fifth! With about 1/4 to 1/3 of my gaiwan full of dried leaf, 175 F water, and a seven second first steep (no rinse) it comes out wonderfully. I receive notes of fresh hay, a malty sweetness, thick and “chewy” vegetal qualities, and faint tones of nuts. Maybe almonds? The liquor’s color has great clarity and is so light and vivid it’s almost neon.

The second steep at about 14 seconds brings a lively mouthfeel with a sort of sparkling texture. A new nuance that reminds me of whole wheat toast becomes most apparent and the nutty qualities become more pronounced. The third steep seems to do well somewhere between 30 seconds and one minute. Twenty seconds is a bit too short and it comes out really weak, and one minute introduces some bitterness and astringency (two things that usually aren’t present with this tea except for extra long steep times). The nutty and toasty qualities subside a great deal at this point and are replaced with a strong herbal quality. It’s far more “green.”

With the aforementioned leaf to water ratio, a fourth steep is possible, but it’s flavor faded and it has a heavy mouthfeel. It comes out like a mixture of steep 2 and 3.

Western style
While the flavor doesn’t change dramatically between steeps, each steep is lovely in its own way. Western style produces a light-bodied cup with great character. The “darker” flavors like toast and nuts and such aren’t as apparent this way, but instead blend in with the other nuances so that all the flavors kind of meet in the middle. Yet, a lively, sparkly/fizzy mouthfeel helps add another dimension to keep things interesting.

The main drawbacks to this method, for me at least, is I have to use a ton of leaf. I did 3 heaping teaspoons in my 16 oz cast iron with 175 F water. I performed the recommended one minute steeping time, took the leaves out, and poured some off. Still really weak. So I plopped the leaves back in and went for another minute. This worked much better.

Ultimately, I’ll be using Western brewing when I want a sipping tea and gong fu when I want a short, but power-packed session. I also prefer gong fu to pull out the best flavors this tea offers, like that whole wheat toast note that I look forward to every time I drink this one. I think the textural intrigues of this tea are pulled out much more easily with Western style, though.

There’s a good chance that I’ll be stocking this one as my one green tea on hand at some point. :)

This one is a sad sipdown as I really like it and will need to get more. Bright air and sparkling minerals meet soft nutty sweet notes. I wish I could describe it in more tangible terms, but it is light and lovely, like the clouds when you are laying on your back in the grass trying to decide what shape they are. I will miss you Huang Shen Mao Feng and will see you again soon. :)