Xin Yang Mao Jian Green Tea

This is exciting-my first order from Teavivre and my first order direct from China!

I’ve never heard of this tea before, but Teavivre’s web site said this is refreshing in hot weather and with an early summer in the States, I thought it was worth a shot.

The leaves are as everyone says-thin and very dark green, almost black (Charleston Green, perhaps?). The dry leaves are very fragrant and smell like spinach and a touch of cream, or maybe even creamed spinach with a bit of nutmeg? Brewed leaves turn a very nice spinach green color.

Have made this two times. First time was 1 tsp at 175 for one minute. 2nd steep was 175 for 1:15. Very pleasant. Taste very similar to aroma. Spinachy, kinda sweet, smooth. Slightly weaker 2nd steep-but definitely worth 2 infusions.

Today I used 2 tsp at 175. First steep was 175 for 2 minutes. Liquor was a pale green-yellow, with more green in it than yellow. Spinach was the dominant flavor-really the only flavor that I can describe. Surprised that there was a bit of bitterness in this steep and I think I brewed this a little too long. Still, it was good.

Second steep: 175/2min. Maximum spinach/vegetal flavor. Zero bitterness. Clearly brewed the earlier steep too long. Liquor is paler, again slightly more green than yellow. Very enjoyable.

Third steep: Liquor is paler still. Again a bit more green than yellow in color. Flavor is weakening. Still slightly spinachy but gravitating toward what I perceive as a generic green tea flavor-a GOOD general tea flavor, but not as unique as the first two steeps.

Well, our hot spell ended before this tea arrived, so I can’t comment on its effect in hot weather, but it is a refreshing tea and I expect it to do well. I may even ice it.

I am mostly a black tea drinker, but I feel I need a bit of balance in my teas. This has worked out well and I will probably order it again-feel stupid for ordering this just before the new harvest came in. Still, excellently packaged and the tea looks and tastes very fresh.

Sipdown! (29)

This has a lovely dry alfalfa hay scent in the packet.

It came out a tad bit bitter, I think because I used a bit too much leaf. But I didn’t want to have a weird tiny amount left over!

This has a rather robust flavor, mostly oats and creamy edamame with a slight savory smokiness. There’s also a somewhat harsh mineral note, and a fairly present astringency toward the end of the sip. I get a light apricot-like flavor in the aftertaste, which I find common among Chinese green teas.

I will say, this was bit more rough around the edges than I expected! I was quite surprised by its smoky and mineral notes. Very different from other Chinese greens I’ve tried lately! Not something I would order for myself, but it was interesting to try.

This is potentially my favourite straight green tea. There, I said it. Not that there’s much competition. This is so much lighter and more delicate than I typically expect from green teas, almost like a cross between a green and a white. It’s complex and yet sweet and light in a way which is just different to me. There are notes of butter, green bean and water chestnut with delicate grassy, floral and grape-like notes lingering at the back of the sip. I feel like I can’t do it justice or give a proper description because I’m not a green tea person, but I would consider finding a permanent place for this in my collection, and that has got to count for something.

This is one of those teas I thought I’d tried, but I don’t see a note. (When I pasted this review into Steepster, it turns out I did write a note for it, but I can’t see what it says! I gave it a pretty high rating, which is ominous.) I steeped 3 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 185F for 20, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds. I also bowl steeped 2 g of tea in 200 ml of water at 185 starting at 3 minutes, adding water as needed.

The dry aroma is of smoke, meat, green beans, grass, and florals. The first steep has notes of smoke, meat, green beans, asparagus, butter, and grass, with a floral and smoky aftertaste. The next steep has even more smoke, and adds spinach and hints of apricot. Already, this tea is quite vegetal. The next couple steeps have hints of florals, apricot, and grass, but the smoke and spinach/asparagus/bitter veggies predominate. The final few steeps are very smoky and vegetal, and I understand why Teavivre doesn’t include them in their instructions.

When I bowl steep this tea, the bitterness and smoke are much less apparent. I get more florals, asparagus, and grass, and even a bit more apricot. The tea fades out rather than getting extraordinarily bitter.

I don’t think this is the green tea for me. I’m not a fan of smoke, and I can really taste it in this Mao Jian. There aren’t enough other flavours to make it interesting for me. Well, you can’t like them all!

Mild buttery spinach vegetal flavour. Sweet note. Savoury note. I think I would enjoy this tea infused for a bit longer than 2 minutes.

Ok green tea. Nothing special.
Mild hay like taste.

I was not expecting this interesting combination of smokey, floral, and sweet. This one is kind of neat.

Edit I’m so sorry for that unintentional rhyme, fellow steepsterites. It was wrong of me and I’ll be more aware next time.

if i steep this tea for five minutes max like it says i can. the green tea is strong, and i taste a slight smokiness this time

free sample from teavivre! thank you angel and the rest of the teavivre folks!

this one is not my favourite green from teavivre. it’s slightly vegetal but lacking in that really FRESH! taste that i’ve come to love from other teavivre’s green teas. this was a little green bean like…a little grassy and overall pleasant even if it won’t be a favourite of mine. Thanks a bunch teavivre!

As ever, I’m well behind with my reviews, because the selection of green teas I’m about to start are from the Spring 2015 harvest. I first tried this one in 2014, and at the time I thought it was vegetal, with notes of green bean and asparagus, and perhaps a touch of grass towards the end of the sip. I said it was clean-tasting and smooth, maybe a little reiniscent of Bi Luo Chun (which is one of my all-time favourite green teas…) It’ll be interesting to see how the following year’s harvest compares!

To begin with, the leaf is similar – quite long and thin, predominantly dark green in colour but with downy creamy-white tips. The scent is mildly vegetal. Definitely green beans! I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to 180 degrees.

Once brewed, the leaves fade to a more olive green. The flavour is mild, although with a vegetal edge. I don’t think I’d say green bean so much this time – perhaps freshly shelled garden pea. It’s a sweeter, softer flavour than I remember. The end of the sip has an edge of almost-sharpness that’s making me think of lemon squeezed into water. It’s an interesting contrast with the sweet opening notes.

I’m enjoying this one. It’s clean and refreshing, and I like the sweet/sharp interplay. A great spring cup! My rating is unchanged from my previous (2014) tasting.