Nonpareil Te Gong Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea

Another rogue Teavivre sample included in a previous tea swap. This one was different from any other green tea I’ve had before. The leaves looked almost shiny/oily, and indeed when I was brewing the tea, I could see a bit of an oily looking sheen on top of the water. The leaves had a nutty aroma with a bit of grassiness, but really reminded me a bit of peanut butter. After the first brew, they smelled quite savory and brothy as well.

Another from the swap with DelightfulKiwi – sorry that I took so long to drink this. Same age as the last tea, with the same rate of deterioration of the tea.
The whole sample at 185F, 1:30.
Light taste, light color, light green something – I am unable to determine what this tastes like. Lettuce? Bok choi or cabbage?
No rating due to age.

A free sample from Teavivre!

The dry leaves are a medium long and yellow-green. It’s a very clean and sweet and mineral brew. Notes of green bean, chestnut, and sugarcane with a slightly floral finish. As the leaves open up they become bright green and reveal nice budsets. A nice and refreshing green, mao fengs are my favorite.

I wasn’t too impressed with this tea the first couple of times I tried it, finding it fairly bland and tasteless. All of the positive reviews baffled me so I figured it must be me…and it was! I have lately gotten into the habit of brewing green teas uncovered as many greens fare better that way. But this tea works much better with the lid on. I added enough leaves to cover the bottom of the gaiwan, poured in 175F water, and let it go for 2 minutes. This time, the tea was much better. Creamy spinach and green been flavors emerged along with a faint sweetness. Still a very light tea brew though. I may have to experiment with water temperature and brew times, but this is an enjoyable tea for sure.

Wow! just wow!

This was not even 10 minutes out of the box before it was in my Kyusu! I even waited outside for the mailman….

I opened the package and was hit with the most enticing scent. I was covered in a deep vegetal aroma and fresh grass. The leaves are stout vibrant green and yellow buds. I placed a generous amount in my warmed kyusu and inhaled. My senses were struck with a nutty and grass sensation. I brewed immediately! The taste was oh so good! A completely refreshing brew with a smooth sugary mouth feel. The initial flavor was watercress, oats, and chestnut. This brew caused some odd descriptive words to come up. These words include juicy, invigorating, refreshment, gushy, and lifey. hahah I thought that were kinda weird, but I guess you just had to “be there”. I’ve also been celebrating this spring tea with a long tea binge so I’m a little tea drunk.

All and all this was unbelievably fantastic!!

https://instagram.com/p/2MG5hgTGaL/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

It’s a cold, rainy day here, so I thought I’d break out the green teas in an effort to lighten things up a bit. Green teas always remind me of spring and sunshine.

This. This tea. There is a wonderful chestnut flavor followed by a vegetal note that is reminiscent of sugar snap peas. Yum. The finish has a mineral note that is clean and every so slightly drying. I find this pleasing since it allows me to taste the chestnut note fresh with each sip. I also pick up a very slight buttery note as the tea cools. Very, very nice.

Thank you Angel and Teavivre for allowing me to sample this!

Thank you to Teavivre for a sample of this tea! I’m sampling it at the same time as the “Premium” grade of this tea, and I have to say I prefer the latter… it’s more vegetal and has a distinct sweetness, whereas this tea is more on the hay-y, slightly nutty side. Still similar flavour profiles, but I’m a huge fan of vegetal, sweet greens, so the Premium version gets my nod here. As mentioned in my previous note, I did perhaps understeep this (or under leaf), so more to come for my second infusion.

ETA: Second infusion, pretty similar. A bit more on the vegetal side, but the Premium version is just better, IMO.

Thanks, Amariel, for this smooth and subtle green. This has some really lovely notes of chestnut, coconut, and even some sugar-like sweetness. It’s a nice balance between savory (nutty) and sweet.

I hope I get around to picking up more of this before the new year, or in time for the latest harvest.. maybe as a reward for when I finally finish The Wheel of Time (I’m so close).

The first steep of this tea produces a cup that is very smooth and refreshing with an almost honey-like texture. It has a subtle sweet, slightly grassy flavor with no hint of astringency or dry mouth. The fact that it doesn’t produce a dry mouth after tasting it makes it the perfect tea for the long, hot months of summer. As the temperature begins to rise I tend to look for lighter flavored teas that will quench my thirst without leaving me with the dry mouth feel that many other green teas produce. This is one of the few teas that I’ve tried in the past few weeks that does just that. It produces a very refreshing cup of tea and I could see myself consuming a lot of it this summer.

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/7/22/tuesday-tea-nonpareil-te-gong-huang-shan-mao-feng-green-tea.html

I am sad because I typed up a very long and detailed review only to have it vanish for some unknown reason. :( This one will not be as comprehensive because I am running out of time to type it. Let me thank Angel at Teavivre for the generous sample though- I love this green!

Onto the review, the dry leaf is sweet and savory both, like crushed sweet grass. The leaves are army green and rolled tightly. In the infuser, the leaves become a brighter green and the liquor is clear and yellow-olive. It smells very pleasant, sweet with a nutty vegetable broth aroma.

The steeped tea tastes delightful- water chestnuts and minerals with a savory green vegetable finish. This tea has a very smooth mouthfeel and is light and flavorful. I remember my previous experiences with Huang Shan Mao Feng to be on the faint side, but this one was just right with more tea used initially than I had previously. I really enjoyed it and would even say it is one of my new favorites. Lovely and elegant, what is not to like?