Green Anji

Tea note #400. Happy 4th of July!

Another in the Green Savant sampler.

In the sample tin it has a very green, grassy fragrance, which swings between fresh and dusky. Interesting. It has twisty, twiggy, bird nesty leaves that are darker than the Dragon Well leaves (which I sampled earlier today).

It’s a fairly solid yellow liquor, more intense in color than the Dragon Well. And its aroma is solidly vegetal, too, though not overly strong.

In taste, it’s an ok, but not very remarkable vegetal green tea. Tastier than most bagged greens, but not the rich, multilayered, depth of character laden taste of some greens I’ve had. It does seem to have a deeper flavor than the Adagio Dragon Well, but unlike the Dragon Well, it has a hint of bitterness at the tail. It’s the sort of thing I’ll keep drinking to see if it grows on me but doesn’t hit it out of the park on the first tasting.

It’s wonderful how a bit of knowledge of tea/teaware physics can streamline the morning ritual.

1. Drag self out of bed and down into kitchen. Plug in the sandwich maker and toast two slices of bread. Meanwhile, boil water.

2. When electric kettle clicks, pour boiling water into cool (not prewarmed) designated green tea gaiwan. (Designated as such because the walls of this particular gaiwan are so thick that if I use it to make oolong or black tea the walls become too hot to handle. So Green Tea it is then.) Water drops automatically to about 175F. LIKE MAGIC. For lazy people.

Optional step 2A: If I have a bit more time, I’ll steal some of the halfway-to-the-boil water to warm the gaiwan a bit. Then I’ll pour the boiled water from up high. Don’t know how much of a difference this makes I’ll stick my thermometer in now and then and it’s something above 185F. If I have my thermometer handy I’ll wait until it’s cooled down to 180. But usually I am lazy and hungry for tea and breakfast, so I skip this step.

3. Take large pinch of green tea (bi luo chun, white monkey, et al). Today it was Green Anji. Toss (or drop gently, sprinkle artfully…) on top of the water. Cover gaiwan.

4. While tea is steeping: Retrieve toast. Coat heavily with butter. Locate Marmite jar from where my mom stowed it away in the corner of the pantry because she doesn’t understand what it is. Streak Marmite like veins of marble onto buttered toast. Repeat for next slice of bread.

5. Take large bite. Wash down with the now ready-to-drink green tea, either directly from gaiwan, or decanted into small mug. Note on fruity taste of the tea, possibly peach, but not cloying like most peach flavors are. At any rate, it’s refreshing. Is there some citrus in there? Can’t be sure. But realize that it’s too early in the morning and your taste buds are probably still asleep. Shrug and polish off the rest of your toast. Finish off the cup. Make a second round. Repeat the next day.

Because of the way the loose leaf dried it was a little hard to get a few pinches out of the sample tin. But if that is the least of my problems I won’t complain. The dried leaves smell like a masculine candle, cologne, or air freshener – but it’s not overly scented. It’s very light in color – not too different from other green teas. There isn’t much of a aroma after steeping but there is a hint of earthiness. The taste is a cross between a florally-light-jasmine and a vegetable taste. The taste isn’t very intense so when the company’s descriptions says its name stands for safety and prosperity I suppose that may go a little further and I would say this is a safe tea…especially if you are new to Green Teas or don’t like the intense green tea taste. This may be something to try. It is a pretty pleasant cup, regardless.

There was just something about this tea that was just too light and elegant for breakfast. There is definitely the taste of green tea, but the color of the tea is so light, that I’m not sure if I had the right temperture for steeping, or if the recommended steeping time was long enough. Toward the end of the cup, as it got stronger, I can definitely say that this tea got better.

In future, I will have to remember not to have it with jelly toast :D.

I brewed and drank this tea out of my large gaiwan Chinese “glass brewing style”. In my opinion this tea can be summed up with the word balance. If one likes strong grassy or floral green teas this is not a tea for you but if you would like something in the middle between the two. On the surface level you have a naturally sweet tasting green tea with a nice middle between grassy and floral but if one gets extra critical they can likely pick up flavor notes from both sides of the spectrum and a little hint of bamboo.

Smooth and mellow, as the description says. A not-unpleasant hint of corn on the palate. Some very mild tannins. Pretty good, but unremarkable.

Part of the green savant sampler. Was very excited when my teas got delivered today.

As TeaEqualsBliss pointed out, definitely a great tea for a beginner. Mild and smooth, and doesn’t lack at all that Chinese Green flavor. Very mellow, yes – but maybe a little bit too much. I had trouble picking out anything that would make this tea distinct or memorable.

As for the smell, the dry leaves have a pleasant fragrance, that would be suitable for scenting a room. Subtle, and even a bit fruity. That smell is misleading, though. One brewed, the leaves take on a scent similar to the taste – vegetal, but not unpleasant. Maybe I just like it because I spend too much time with tea…

Brewing wise, it has a lasting flavor. I got a good four infusions out of it before I took a break to record. Do note, though, that I was brewing it in a gaiwan, not a teapot. The open leaves fill about half the vessel, so my proportions are probably much different than that of what one would brew in a tetsubin or something.

The liquor was very light, and the brewed leaves are a bit bitter to eat, but somewhat delightful. Though the flavor is nothing to write home about, it is pleasant and elegant. Not a bad tea at all, especially for the price. Worth keeping around for times when you don’t want to just gulp down some tea, but you’re not in the mood for anything extravagant.
Probably something I’d buy more of in the future… if I remember it.

Just made a cup of Green Anji for the first time. Ordered this tea on a whim. it was on sale and I wanted to try a new green tea.

At the recommended 2 minutes, the color is a very light yellow-green,and it does not have much of a smell. Very weak. I let it sit for another 5ish minutes, tasting and sniffing the whole time. I find I like teas that have a strong flavor, that’s why I let this one sit. The tea at about 6 1/2 minutes has a yellow-gold, straw-like hue. I can smell and taste some mint notes, and it does smell a bit like spinach (like the package says) but very faint, it’s more like a clean leaf smell/taste.
Overall, I like this tea. It’s quite refreshing because of it’s mild, simple flavor and low steeping temperature.

**Just finished the cup after completely forgetting about it on my desk. It had cooled down to almost room temperature, but I’m sure glad it did! I totally tasted the mint notes, and it was a bit stronger (perhaps because it was cool?) What a nice finish!

Part of the Adagio green savant sampler. Mild tasting Chinese green tea. Unremarkably simple with a very light aftertaste.

The description is apt. Vegetal in a spinach sort of way, with a crisp, lingering finish, almost reminiscent of mint but not quite there (for me, even when it’s still hot). There is a hint of flowers but it fades quickly… more of a nasal aroma when first drinking. I like. The leaves, when unfurled, are larger than the smaller-leafed anji bai cha I had elsewhere. Pretty in a gaiwan. Does not seem to get bitter easily. I like that… So far infused maybe 5-6 times before it begins to lose flavour.

Ok, but some weird elements I sisnt like.

Good as an everyday cup, nothing terribly complex or exciting, just a basic cup of grassy green tea. Pleasant and mild, would make a good introduction to green teas. Call me crazy, but I’ll take this over Sencha any day, I guess I just lean more towards the Chinese greens.

I brewed this one a bit strong a first, but it was still really good. It’s simply a light and smooth green tea, nothing too complex. It’s also fairly easy to drink!

Nice subdued green tea taste. Not too earthy at a two minute steep time just how I like Green Tea.

A very light and simple tea. Not anything special really, but it’s always there. I recommend washing the leaves first. The second infusion is much less “grassy” then the first. Unless that’s your thing.

I’ve no passion for greens, but this one I quite like. It has a light, but not weak flavor, and it’s very easy to steep. Its flavor is similar to that of Japanese greens, but milder; it makes me think of a field of clover and hay. The best thing is that it’s very very smooth: great ‘drinkability’.

Simple green tea. Not a strong green taste but is still distinctly vegetal.

Not a very exciting tea by any means. It’s a mellow one, with a fair amount of grassiness. Not a bad tea, but not a great one.

Very weak. Tastes like supermarket dust. Too simple and virtually no nose.