Mei Hua

Dry leaves: Leaves are in long curls, similar to many black teas, but larger and more twisted. Smell of plums and jalebi (an Indian festival sweet). Dark green-grey in color, the leaves are slightly difficult to scoop as they individual leaves like to cling and hook onto each other

Steeping: Slightly floral and vegetal aroma. Very light green-yellow color brew, turns darker and more yellow as it sits.

Tasting: Has a mild but quite spinachy flavor with slight floral and fruity notes. Very comparable to a smokeless gunpowder. Has a smooth, round mouthfeel. The flavor has a natural sweetness.

Summary: Decent, affordable Chinese green with a spinachy flavor (I enjoyed the vegetal side of it, but my roommate nearly gagged) Gunpowder’s cute younger sister. I don’t plan on reordering it, but I’ll happily drink more.

Pros: Affordable, smooth, nice mouthfeel
Cons: Too spinachy for some, nothing that really stands out as exceptional

Bitter sweet moment for me. The sample was heavenly, a mixture of honey sweet notes and plum. The second time around it was bland and tasteless. I gave it a third try in case the second was a fluke… prepackaging the tea kills it adagio.

This tea reminds me of Chun Mee but without the “dusty” aftertaste, its not wonderful but it has a nice honey/plum aftertaste and its nowhere near as bitter as Chun Mee.

I’m saving the below since my first note stated 1min, and that probably had a lot to do with it. I actually do like this. Definitely vegetal as I mentioned, a bit grassy, but not bitter or death-like when brewed with a lower temp and shorter amount of time. Very touchy, though.
—-earlier note below (was 190F instead of 175F, 1min instead of 30sec; temps are estimates anyway)
First steeping: Smelled a bit like death and flowers to me in the bag but once brewed it was definitely floral. Taste: Slightly bitter. Very vegetal, a bit grassy. Smoother with a fuller feel. Bitter finish, moderately astringent. My water was likely still too hot, if that helps. This is definitely a green in the green sense. My rating reflects the fact I’m not a fan of most greens.

Terrible.