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I have been on kind of a green tea kick for the past week as I ended up recently acquiring some green tea samples from Teavivre. I mostly ended up with things that were new to me or that I do not drink very often. Of the bunch, this was arguably the tea about which I knew the least. Unless I have tried one under a different name, I do not recall trying a Tian Mu Qing Ding prior to trying this one. Fortunately, I found it to be a unique and highly rewarding green tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of the loose leaf and bud mix in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry leaf and bux mix emitted aromas of cream, butter, pine, olive, hay, chestnut, and honey. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of grass and sweet corn that were underscored by a subtle scent of malt. The first infusion introduced aromas of peas and green beans. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, grass, hay, and chestnut that were underscored by hints of sweet corn and malt. Subtle honey sweetness, notes of pine, and a vague floral presence that reminded me of a mixture of squash blossom and honeysuckle lingered in the mouth after the swallow. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas of lettuce and sugarcane. The tea liquor grew sweeter and more floral with more pronounced and immediate honey, squash blossom, and honeysuckle flavors dominating the entry. Green bean, grass, pea, and olive notes then belatedly appeared with new mineral, apricot, nectar, sugarcane, seaweed, and spinach impressions. The final few infusions offered lingering mineral, cream, butter, grass, and lettuce notes that were balanced by spinach, malt, olive, apricot, green bean, and pea impressions.

This was a very unique and appealing green tea. Considering that I tend to favor very grassy, vegetal and/or very buttery, nutty, savory green teas these days, the pronounced honey sweetness along with the fruity and floral qualities displayed by this tea totally took me by surprise. This was just a lovely tea that offered a tremendous drinking experience. I recommend it highly to anyone looking for a quality Chinese green tea that offers something truly out of the ordinary.