Anhui Emerald Seed

When I was placing my last order with Adagio, they offered me a free sample of my choosing if I shared my order on Facebook. I’d placed a big order of blacks and oolongs (because although I usually prefer greens, I never have darker teas when I do want them), so I indulged myself on this one. From the description / reviews I was under the impression it would be similar to a Dragonwell.

The dry leaf is long and loosely rolled. I can’t unroll the leaf without breaking it, but I can peer down the center of it like a little telescope. Sniffing it, there are faint smells of grass and something akin to cocoa powder. Not what I expect from a green, but intriguing.

Steeped this morning in my little Amsterdam 2-cup teapot, which is great for the mornings when I want something a little fancier than a mug. I have a matching cup and saucer to go along with it.

I steeped for two minutes, and when I pulled the infuser basket out and let the excess tea drip from the leaves, it looked clear. In the cup, it’s a very pale gold (although my teapot and cup are rose colored, so colors aren’t completely accurate.)

On the first sip, it reminds me of something in between the first and second steeps of a Dragonwell. It has a vegetal overtone to it, but it’s not as strong, and there’s a buttery flavor supporting it. Adagio compares it to pumpkin seeds, and I can see where they get that comparison. (Although presumably these are pumpkin seeds that aren’t burnt and covered in salt!)

In short: I really like this tea. I’m delighted I got to try it, and I’ll probably keep it in my cupboard!

I have ruined the smell of this tea. It used to smell so nice and fresh when I first got it but I put it in a tin that smelled like a tootsie roll from an old tea. On the plus side it still tastes amazing. Is similar to fresh vegetables from a garden with a smooth finish.

This is good! Not super impressive, but like the pouchong from Adagio for the price it’s not bad.
This is a vegetal and grassy cup of green, and unlike the description the liquid in my cup was closer to a pale green than yellow. This actually reminds me more of a good sencha than dragonwell. It’s a bit sweet.

Finally finishing this one up. This has a wonderful smooth flavor to it. It’s vegetal and toasty with hints of buttery flavors. Very nice :)

Its a very nice in between chinese green. It’s nutty and vegetal, sweet and dry. The leaves remind me of bancha and it does have a resemblance taste wise as well, but its also richer.
Nice reliable tea.

Experience buying from Adagio: < More later, but positive overall >

Packaging: This was a good sized sample that came in an opaque plastic package nicely decorated with their colors, the weight and the name of the tea on it, and information on the back about Adagio.

Age of leaf: I was not able to find this information on their website.

Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: smells fresh, vegetal, sweet. Like no other tea I have seen: large pale green leaves with a kind of pleat down the length of the leaf (or tightly rolled like a scroll of paper); some small bits.

Brewing guidelines: _{Standard parameters for my green teas} Labeled as 0.5 oz tea = 6 cups of water. Glass Bodum pot where leaves are free to roam. Stevia added.
……….1st: 180; 1’
……….2nd: 182; 1.5
……….3rd: 187; 2’
……….4th: < Although I probably did a forth, I do not have the data for this >

Color and aroma of tea liquor: pale green color, mildly cloudy: < no data on aroma >

Flavor of tea liquor: sweet, fairly tasty for a green tea. Not much flavor on the third.

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: standard vegetal aroma, but not very fresh; large leaves (like many oolongs I have seen) that were varied in their shade of green, such that most had broken edges; there were also many broken bits; it was fun watching the leaves steep: when they were fully opened (on the third steeping), the pot looked like it was filled with an underwater forest!

Value: I bought this as a sample, and as they have been out of it since I bought it, I can’t get any data on the price (but I think this style of green tea is somewhat on the pricy side).

Overall: I bought this in large part to try some of the famed Melon Seeds. Although it was fun watching the leaves steep, I was disappointed as I had heard it is generally thought of as a quality green tea. There was nothing memorable about the aroma or the flavor. But I am glad I tried it. Not a great first impression for Adagio (but the impression of this reviewer towards Adagio’s unflavored green teas has turned more hopeful since trying their White Monkey). Here’s hoping their other green teas are more flavorful!

Mild earthy taste. I feel like if silver needle and dragonwell had a baby, it would be anhui emerald seed. It has the nutty notes of dragonwell, but is very sweet and soft like silver needle.