This is a fairly savory green tea. Notes of roasted corn and mesquite wood are prevalent. There is some corn and honeysuckle sweetness in the background and aftertaste.
You really have to watch your brewing parameters on this one. Make sure to use low green-tea temperatures when brewing. It gets overly vegetal and bitter if you’re not careful with temps or brewing times. If you are careful, however, you will be able to balance the savoriness with a fairly rewarding sweetness.
Another interesting note – you can’t eat the leaves. They are tough and rubbery. My experience has been that tougher green teas tend to be more vegetal and bitter, just as this one is. Sweeter green teas seem to have more tender leaves. Not that I’m at home composing mixed green tea leaf salads or anything, but I think it’s interesting to note the difference.
Overall, it’s OK. I’m finding myself much more drawn to sweeter green teas like Laoshan, Xinyang Mao Jian, and senchas. But, this tea definitely has a backbone and will reward you with good, strong flavors.
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Dry leaf – smells like a white tea at first, with honey and honeysuckle and light sandalwood notes. Then roasted corn and mesquite barbecue notes arrive. In preheated vessel – pungent grilled sweetcorn notes
Smell – corn, grass, bitter vegetal (like tomato vine), hints of barbecue sauce and honey, lemongrass
Taste – corn sweetness/savoriness, grilled corn, mesquite, tomato vine, light honey, honeysuckle, dewy grass in aftertaste, some hints of sweet citrus and even light chocolate in aftertaste
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That toughness in the tea leaves may reflect it’s Yunnanese origins, since large-leaf varietals would probably have tougher leaves. In terms of spring greens, I also lean towards more tender leaves from senchas, bi luo chuns, and the like. Really looking forward to this year’s harvest…as I do every year!
Yeah, good point. I should compare leaf size (age) as well. I don’t know if the tougher greens are also allowed to grow longer, thereby affecting their flavor as well.
That toughness in the tea leaves may reflect it’s Yunnanese origins, since large-leaf varietals would probably have tougher leaves. In terms of spring greens, I also lean towards more tender leaves from senchas, bi luo chuns, and the like. Really looking forward to this year’s harvest…as I do every year!
Yeah, good point. I should compare leaf size (age) as well. I don’t know if the tougher greens are also allowed to grow longer, thereby affecting their flavor as well.