ZG43 Pre-Chingming Golden Jade 2011

I’m glad I bought some samples before this one sold out. The leaf alone is beautiful-the dry leaves being green and black, with white furry tipped leaves too. They smelled lightly fruity and creamy.

I decided to dump the 5 gram sample in my glass press as noted below. The cup color reminded me more of an oolong, and the aroma was fruity, milky, and creamy. As my cup cooled, I inhaled the wet leaves. WOW! They smelled very lightly smokey, but there is more of a deep toasty note-like roasted marshmallows….perhaps…but not that intense. Also noted was a fruity, cantaloupe note somewhere in the mix. The colors of the wet leaves intesified, with brighter green, white, and black leaves (with black stems). The cup can only be described as smooth, creamy, and delicious! It also had a milky texture to it, and a sweet, lightly fruity quality.

My second cup was steeped for one minute, at around 190 degrees. The wet leaf aroma was similarly noted, but seemed more toasty and fruity. The cup was slightly darker, and was slightly more fruity and creamy-so smooth. :))

I tried a third cup with boiling water for 3 minutes. A dissipating, toasty aroma still greeted my nose from my glass press. The cup was darker still, but lacking in aroma and flavor. I did notice light green tea flavors with little else. All three cups were smooth and without bitterness.

Today I drank another sample vowing two steeps. I used half the sample and steeped at 180 for three minutes. The wet leaves were very lightly smokey, but with a deeper toasty aroma I noted the night before. The fruity, melon note was secondary, but deeper as well. As I was looking at the bright colors of the wet leaves, it reminded me how when I look at a beautiful woman, she is beautiful! Her hair shimmering in the sunlight. When the same beautiful woman is wet-say in a pool, or on the beach, her beauty (hair and body) only intensifies, as the water reacts to the sunlight, reflecting her beauty even more! So does the light intensify the beauty of the wet tea leaves. :))

The cup is a deeper oolong color, with deeper creamy sweetness in the cup. Flavors follow in toe-so fruity creamy, milky smooth, and delectable. My last cup (190-200 for 3 minutes), was the best of the five. I added the rest of the dry leaves to the wet ones. The only thing I can add is that the sweetnees coming from the cup was so sugary sweet, and the fruit notes were strongest as well.

Golden Jade is a great tea. Not a WOWZAA, in your face, aromatic, palate pounding delight. This tea is still quite delicious! Like the beautiful lady coming out of the water on a bright, sunlit day—she may be a WOWZAA; but, once you get to know her, her real beauty lies in her many layers-diversity, sweetness and subtlety.

Cupped: Thursday & Friday, May 10-11, 2012.

Reviewed: Friday, May 11, 2012.

Second tea of the morning…… (SRP #28)

This one is very interesting! It is a green and black blend. The green leaves are the most prominent as they are a long and somewhat twisty pale green. I steeped it up at about 190. The liquor is a light amber. The taste is brothy. I get a little salt and pepper, even! There is a slight nudge of a vegetal note at the beginning, and it finishes smooth like a black tea. Very interesting and well done. It probably is not something I would drink on a regular basis (they are out, so it really doesn’t even matter if I would!), but I am glad they had a few samples left when I last ordered.

Usual teapot method with a 2.5 minute steep. No additions.

These days I mostly gravitate towards japanese green tea but this quite an excellent Chinese green tea.

When I first tried steeping this I think I left some soap in my cup because I got a mouthful of dish soap and green tea – bleah!

When I finally got rid of my soap I steeped this at around 190F for 2 minutes per the instructions on the package. I just noticed another thing I like about Upton tea is they put the date on the bag of when the order was processed so at least you will know roughly how long you’ve had it.

When these leaves are steeped they are curly and turn shades of green and brown. It yields an amber liquor with a nice floral nose. The taste is nutty with a bit of spicy note. I can see why this is described as a green tea that has some of the flavors of black. It’s pretty unique, at least to me. I’m sure I will have no problems finishing this off. Mellow and earthy. If you’re not a fan of “grassy” green tea you would like this one… it also resteeps quite nicely.

I hate being repetitive (just tested Jade Oolong and Jasmine Silver Needle by Adagio, and found them not to my liking), so I will just say that I am learning that floral scented teas are not my thing. This is a cross between the 2 others tested tonight (falls in the middle of likeability).

These 3 failures to my tastebuds is causing them to scream out for a mint testing : )

I’m a novice tea drinker, and I got this tea because it was on sale at UptonTea… partly also because of the name. My family actually practice ChingMing, so I was curious. Boy, do I love the tea. It’s so fragrant and sweet tasting, light and soothing. I brewed it on my Breville Tea Maker following UptonTea’s suggested temperature and time.

It tasted as if I have added milk to the tea without actually doing so. Loving it so much. It is however expensive, but well worth it!

I used 7oz of filtered water (tap, run through a Brita filter), boiled, then cooled to 190 degrees, with an infusion time of 1.5 minutes. I used one teaspoon of leaf.

The dry leaves have a rich and satisfying aroma. They have a nice balance of golden, brown, and green colors. Once brewed the leaves are small, supple, and continue to have a wonderful aroma. The resulting brew is golden, and has a wonderful taste. I can get a couple of steeps out of them, with increasing times for subsequent steeps.

This is my favorite blend at this point in time. The taste is incredible, the aroma is unique, and I have always enjoyed each steep. I don’t drink it often, but I keep looking forward to the next time I can brew a cup or three.