Lindsay Send Message

Trying this one today after tasting the taiping houkui yesterday is a good illustration of the variety of experiences you can have from Chinese green teas, lol.

Dry leaf is a medium green with some silver tips, twisted and kind of irregular. The dry scent in the tin is lovely and green, like freshly cut grass. Interestingly, there was basically no aroma when I put the dry tea leaves in the preheated mug, or when I poured over the hot water. I did 2g leaf + 300ml water at 180F, grandpa style.

This was a better tea than the taiping houkui to really get a feel for grandpa style brewing. Initially it was very entertaining to watch the leaves bob up and down and gradually unfurl. There is a phase in the beginning where most of the leaves pick up tiny air bubbles and float to the top, and this is usually the point in the past where I’d loose patience with grandpa style and pull out the strainer because I get so annoyed with trying to take a sip without ending up with a mouthful of leaves. Love this mug and its filter. And yes, eventually the leaves do absorb enough water to fall to the bottom of the glass. The sipping experience was also interesting because it really changed a lot as I drank and the leaves steeped. It kind of went from “hmm, nothing” to “nothing but in a very refreshing way” to “oh hey, there’s some bitterness and astringency kicking in” to “yes, my mouth is awake now”. It’s a pleasant bitterness though, accompanied by a bit of a sweet aftertaste in the back of the throat, very reminiscent of a young sheng, which makes sense since this is a green tea from yunnan after all. Then more hot water to dilute and mellow it out again, then notice as the flavour gradually intensifies. It’s enjoyable, I can definitely see the appeal of brewing these cheaper green teas this way. Uncomplicated and easy to just sip away while doing something else.

I just got my first tea haul from Bitterleaf Teas! I pre-ordered small tins of all the non-Longjing spring green teas, as well as a glass green tea mug (it has a built-in filter making it ideal for grandpa style brewing). I decided to try this one first, because I’ve never tried a taiping houkui before and it just looks so cool. I steeped it grandpa style in the new mug. :) I started out with water at 180F for the first few pours, then started increasing the temp with each pour (cycling through the presets on my kettle).

Dry leaf aroma is really lovely – fresh, sweet, and verdent. Aroma as it steeps is also lovely and floral. Flavour is light, floral, with a remarkable nectar sweetness that started out strong and gradually tapered off. It remains soft and delicate even with the higher temperature water later on – absolutely no bitterness and very minimal astringency. Very nice.

Sipdown of an ancient sample from TeaSparrow. Surprisingly good, for something that has been languishing for like 10 years. Lemongrass and peppermint in the nose/mouth with that liquorice sweetness on the back of the throat, and an earthy herbal note that I assume is the raspberry leaf. Maaaybe a hint of cardamom if I really concentrate, or maybe it’s just the power of suggestion. Good night time blend if you’re not into chamomile.

Taking inspiration from a Tealyra blend, I just steeped 2g of this hojicha and 1g of peppermint leaf, roughly 300ml water, 180F, for 3-ish minutes. This is a very pleasant combination, and yes, somewhat reminiscent of a mint-chocolate cookie. Highly recommend.

From a Tea Runners box. I had it both hot and cold steeped this morning. I think I somehow overleafed the cold steep because it came out with a strong green tea flavour with some umami and a bit of thickness to the mouthfeel. Not unpleasant, but a bit strange contrasted with the fruit flavouring. The hot steep came out more balanced, still not super strong with the fruit flavour, and I would never have identified it as strawberry and rhubarb specifically, just a vague but pleasant fruitiness. I threw both sets of leaves in a jar with cold water for another cold steep in the fridge, so we’ll see how it is tomorrow. So far my impression is: good, but not so good I want to get more of it.

From my Tea Runners box this month, and I’m drinking it both hot and cold brewed this morning. This is a decent peach tea, with a good “fresh peach” flavour. I don’t detect any ginger in either the hot or cold preparation, which is impressive because ginger is not exactly a subtle flavour component. I was a bit perplexed by the white/green/oolong base, but it works. The base tea is subtle but present, adding a fresh, crisp, juicy vibe to the peach flavour without any astringency or bitterness. It’s a very solid flavoured tea, so I wish it were marketed on that basis without all the unwarranted claims of “health benefits”. And they need to either add more ginger or take it out of the name, sheesh.

Third steep of these leaves! First time was an overnight cold steep. Second and third times I poured on hot water, let it come down to room temp, then put in the fridge overnight. Coconut flavour is less, but still there. Oolong flavour still there, and no unpleasant astringency or bitterness.