Yunnan "Pine Needles" Green Tea from Mengku

I brewed this tea Gong Fu style as I do with most teas.
I’m honestly torn about this tea. The steamed leaves have a nice chestnut, toasty aroma that grows kelpy when washed and these excellent flavors come through in the liquor but not well at all. If the scent is a wagyu beef burger, then the flavor is McDonalds – a muted replica. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this tea.

[Spring 2019 harvest]

I got a free sample of this tea, which I am glad because I haven’t had it yet. It’s nice to be able to try it even though any conclusions have to come with a qualification that the tea is now one year old.

In a preheated pot, dry leaves smell of bacon, rosemary and corn husks. Subsequently, I get an aroma of peas and candle smoke during the session.

The pea note also comes up in the flavour profile, here it is most reminiscent of pea soup. Other than that, the profile is savoury, a little nutty and with a mild lemon tartness but devoid of the sourness. There are also notes of butter, carambola and seaweed; and the finish gets progressively sweeter in later infusions.

Aftertaste is generally very crisp and cooling. There is an interesting earthy hint that’s not all that common among green teas and the dominant flavour is that of green bell peppers.

As for the mouthfeel, this tea strikes pretty high there. The liquor is smooth, oily and thick. All in all, it is quite an enjoyable tea that I would be happy to try fresh at some point in the future. It has a good body, and there is very little bitterness or astringency. The latter does appear eventually, but only at around 85°C.

I thought I smelled peach at first, so was a little surprised with the smooth savoury flavour. It is a very pleasant tea. Kind of reminds me of comfort food- satisfying, tasty and very drinkable, without having an X factor. There is a slight after taste which I am unsure about.

Even with me going through black teas like General Sherman through Georgia this week, I managed to make the time for a green tea and a couple oolongs. I finished the last of a pouch of this tea last night and was finally able to arrive at an opinion of it after going back and forth about it for several days. I ultimately decided that I greatly enjoying this tea, though I suppose that should not come as a surprise considering that I have professed my adoration of Yunnan green teas numerous times in the past.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in a 4 ounce gaiwan filled with 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of sorghum, hay, and corn husk. After the rinse, I noted fresh aromas of malt, straw, spinach, and seaweed. The first infusion brought out hints of damp grass and pine on the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of corn husk, hay, straw, grass, malt, and pine underscored by hints of sorghum molasses. Subsequent infusions saw the nose take on grassier, fruitier, and more marine characteristics with a strongly brothy umami presence also apparent. In the mouth, seaweed and spinach emerged with new impressions of sour plum, lemon zest, chestnut, butter, minerals, umami, and lime zest hot on their heels as the tea turned more noticeably astringent. I could also note some hints of smoke on at least a couple of these infusions. The closing infusions offered lingering notes of minerals, malt, corn husk, and sour plum backed by subtle umami, seaweed, chestnut, and hay impressions.

A strong, lively, pungent, and rather astringent green tea, I could see this one being an acquired taste for a number of people. I, however, love Mengku teas and have been especially fond of the very few other pine needle green teas that I have tried in the past. With that in mind, it makes sense that I eventually came to the conclusion that I loved this tea. If you do not mind a sharper, more biting, more powerful green tea, consider giving this one a shot. I doubt it will disappoint.

A very buttery and somewhat marine tasting green. Moderate peachy sweetness with moderate-high astringency for a green tea. Slight floral aroma that lingers in the mouth. A pretty nice green, but not my favorite from YS.