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Ag drank Wild-Picked Yunnan Jin Jun Mei by Verdant Tea

149 tasting notes

I’m getting mildly irritated at all of the papers that I’ve been writing/need to write, so I’m taking a short (well, maybe long-ish) tea break as I take notes on this and watch a bit of Mad Men. I got a sample of this in my first order from Verdant, tried it once Western-style, but didn’t really enjoy it. This time, I’m trying this out Gongfu style.

Dry leaf aroma: Sweet, almost chocolate-y. It reminds me of some sweet snack or dessert I had at some point in my life, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

First infusion: Tea liquor has a golden hue. Light, slightly sweet, wheaty flavour. Creamy?

Second infusion: Maltier than the first infusion, and I’m definitely beginning to taste something honeylike. At one point I thought I could taste a spice that has a light ‘bite’ to it— cinnamon? Pepper?

Third infusion: Still wheaty, as if I had taken a bite out of fresh wheat bread. Ah, there it is. A little peppery. The creaminess/butteriness is fading.

Fourth infusion: Steeped this a bit longer than I intended to, whoops. Still quite malty, but the honey isn’t as prominent as it was in previous steeps. The creaminess is now mostly gone and has been replaced with a (slightly tingly?) peppery taste. And on that pleasant note, I think I’m going to head back to writing.

Preparation

200 °F / 93 °C

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Bio

I have far too many interests. Tea is one of them.

Background in bioethics, medical anthropology, and evolutionary biology with aspirations of eventually going into a medical field. I also have strong interests in theater, computer science, and food (which shouldn’t be particularly surprising).

Brewing
Brewing method is usually Western style for black teas (2-3 minutes at near-boiling), “grandpa style” for shu pu’ers and longjing, and gongfu (with a gaiwan) short steeps for sheng and shu pu’ers (two 5-second rinses, then 5, 10, 15-second steeps with a gradual increase in steep times to taste). The gaiwan is also used for oolongs though I sometimes use a brew basket if the gaiwan is occupied and I’m taking a break from pu’er.

Preferences
I enjoy black teas, pu’er, and oolongs (leaning towards aged, cliff/Wuyi, or roasted/dark), depending on my mood. I don’t usually drink green tea but do enjoy a cup every so often.

Ratings
My rating methods have changed over time and as a result, they’re very inconsistent. For the most part, as of 11 November 2014, unless a tea is exceptional in some way (either good or bad), I will refrain from leaving a numerical rating.

The final iteration of my rating system before I stopped (note: I never did get around to re-calibrating most of my older notes):
99 & 100: I will go to almost any lengths to keep this stocked in my cupboard.
90-98: I’m willing to or already do frequently repurchase this when my stock runs low.
80-89: I enjoy this tea, and I may be inclined to get more of it once I run out.
70-79: While this is a good tea, I don’t plan on having it in constant supply in my tea stash.
50-69: This might still be a good tea, but I wouldn’t get it myself.
40-49: Just tolerable enough for me to finish the cup, but I don’t think I’ll be trying it again any time soon.
Below 40: Noping the heck out of this cup/pot.

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