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What-Cha's 2014 Korean Greens
What-Cha’s 2014 Korean Greens
I decided to my impressions on
these three teas in a single post rather than separate ones since they are
somewhat similar to each other, although each tea is distinct, perhaps not so
much when comparing them to each other.
Origin: Dosimdawon, Hwagae Valley,
Hadong Korea
Harvest: Sejak (Second Flush)
Dry Leaves: It’s quite obvious this tea is hand plucked, while
there is nothing wrong with machine picked tea there are few tea producing
countries that do so well most notably Japan and Taiwan. The leaves have a
grassy aroma with floral undertones. Other than that the leaves are quite thin
and remind me a little of Bahzhong crossed with Indian greens, especially the
strands with the flattened tips.
Temperature: 140oF
Brewing Time: One Minute (+ Thirty
Seconds for each subsequent infusion)
Aroma: Citrus Blossoms
Flavor: Fresh Corn, Sharp Citrus
and Wet Grass
Tasting Notes: This was quite an
interesting tea to begin with, I suspect it will either be my favorite of the
three or the one I like the least. While it is tastes distinctly like a Korean
green I cannot think of Senchas, it has a little bit of astringency from the
citrus notes. Otherwise it feels very different from What-Cha’s 2013 Korean
Greens that had more of a roasted corn taste than this. As an aside I am sad to
say I ran out of the 100g of each of What-Cha’s 2013 Korean greens in March.
Origin: Soa Tea, Hwagae Valley, Hadong, Korea
Harvest: Between Woojeon and Sejak (May 20th)
Dry Leaves: Once again another hand plucked tea, the leaves are a
little curlier than the Dosimdawon Sejak and this has a stronger floral aroma
than it and it feels like a much greener tea. For some reason the leaves remind
me of praying mantis arms more so than sparrow’s tongue granted I have never
seen a sparrow’s tongue.
Temperature: 140oF
Brewing Time: One Minute (+ Thirty
Seconds for each subsequent infusion)
Aroma: Floral
Flavor: Corn and Grassy
Tasting Notes: This feels like much
fresher than the Dosimdawon, although I suspect it is because it is lacking the
sharp citrus notes and astringency. Other than that it had a rather unusual
creamy mouthfeel, I hesitate to describe it as being thick or thin, but it
stood out to me. Perhaps because it lacks the astringency it feels fresher?
Regardless it was quite nice, it did feel a little light, perhaps I should use
more leaves next time. This was my first Gukwoo and I rather enjoyed it; it
tastes more like a Woojeon than a Sejak though.
Origin: Yejeon Tea, Hwagae Valley, Hadong, Korea
Harvest: Woojeon (First Flush)
Dry Leaves: The leaves are a little strange; while the Soa Gukwoo
and the Dosimdawon had long and thin leaves this has shorter and flat leaves. I
cannot help, but notice there are quite a few smaller broken up leaves mixed in
and the occasional silvery tip. I am a little perplexed by this tea, I suspect
it is not hand plucked. Regardless this lacks the floral aroma the other two
teas had instead it had a nice grassy scent.
Temperature: 140oF
Brewing Time: One Minute (+ Thirty
Seconds for each subsequent infusion)
Aroma: Grassy
Flavor: Corn and Hay
Tasting Notes: Another Korean green
that tastes like corn! Color me surprised; joking aside this feels and tastes
like the 2013 Korean greens What-Cha stocks, not as fresh and clean as the
first two teas of this post, and have a slight roasted corn taste.
Unfortunately this tea stands out the least out of the three and I imagine it
doesn’t fair well against What-Cha’s 2013 teas.
I did enjoy all three teas, but they
have a very similar flavor profile. I kind of regret sampling all of these in
one sitting, because I do not want to sound overly critical of the Woojeon at
the same time I feel I had to sample these three teas in one setting because I
knew these were going to be very similar to each other. I mentioned before that
I occasionally feel overwhelmed when drinking multiple teas in one session, but
at the same time I believe my feelings are stronger. Nevertheless I have yet to
say which of these is my favorite and you can probably guess which I liked the
least. I prefer the Dosimdawon over the Gukwoo because of the astigency and it
is the one I am most likely to order again, but each has their own merits. At
the time of writing this the a 5g sample of the Dosimdawon is being sold for
$4.55, a 5g sample of the Gukwoo for $4.74 and a 5g sample of the Woojeon for
$5.37.
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