Chun Mee

This is a decent Chun Mee. Chun Mee teas are pretty standard, but I still enjoy a good one every once in a while, and this one is good.

light, sweet, vegetative taste with hints of flower. Quite enjoyable!

Pretty standard Run-of-the-mill Chun Mee…not overly memorable but I will say the ‘leaves’ were a little different that others I have seen…more gray than others I have seen. This was alright…grassy-green, but ok!

Nutty, smoky but sweet. This is a great everyday green tea. It is less sweet and slightly more smoky than other greens, so a perfect switch for black tea drinkers. It can withstand a large range of steep times and water temperatures and remains palatable even when bitter. The flavors are not at all one-sided, nor are they too elaborate. This tea will definitely keep me coming back for more. Also, I love the Chinese name for this tea: “Precious Eyebrows”!

Tasting notes: Grass, linen, honey, celery, kale, hickory

Loose. Appearance: leaves are small, gently rolled slate gray-green. They do look like greenish eyebrows (the name). They become much greener after steeping but lose their shape. Liquor: yellow with green tints. It is a warmer yellow on second infusion. Smell: smoky, earthy, but still green tea. I think it smells like a lot of other Chinese greens. (On just smell alone, I usually prefer the overt vegetal notes of a Japanese green.) Taste: The taste is nice and mellow, with only some bitterness. It is less sweet than other teas, and the smoky notes of the smell come through – and become stronger as it cools. When it very first hits the palate there is a vegetal (dark leafy green) taste, but that tends to fade into a lingering astringency and smoky aftertaste. The second infusion is even smoother and smokier. (Some chun mee teas are said to have a plum flavor and I don’t get that at all). It’s not my favorite green tea but this is pleasant enough. 6/10

This tea is very yellow. It doesn’t yield the caffeine levels I’m yearning for this morning, as I saw The Decemberis last night and now it’s work time. Needless to say it’s been a long morning with 4 infusions of this tea for about 20-25 seconds long and it’s still going. This tea reminds me of Oolong. It’s toasty tasting. Nothing to rave about, it’s what I had in my bag today. I’m longing for a really strong cup of tea right now, but this’ll do for now.