(I
decided to change up the format of this blog a little, instead of brewing both
western style and having a gongfu session, I’ll do one and then revisit the tea
at a later date and do the other. This way I’ll be able to revisit the tea with
a fresh palate later on. I am also looking into buying less reflective teaware,
a careful reader of this blog could notice in my previous posts I have been posting
underexposed pictures because of how shiny most of my teaware is.)
The
dry leaves are a remarkably bright shade of green for a Long Jing, the leaves
are a little broken up, but I most note that the box that my What-Cha order was
shipped in was really banged up; even my postman apologized for the shape of
it. I haven’t encountered any of What-Cha’s teas being that broken up, so I am confident
saying this happened when it was in transit. There is a little yellow on some
of the leaves as well; the most notable part of this tea is the scent. It has a
really intense Chocolate-Mint aroma, not chocolate and mint, or chocolate
mints, but the chocolate-mint plant; this was quite interesting, I don’t think
I have ever encountered a Dragon Well with dry leaves that smell like mint.
Already I knew this was going to be a really interesting tea, although I should
have known it was going to be interesting when it said “What-Cha” on the label.
For
my first steeping I brewed at 176°F for two minutes. I was greeted with a nutty aroma, I was a
little disappointed that it didn’t have the chocolate-mint aroma from the dry
leaves, but I won’t hold that against this tea.
This tea had a very dominant nutty taste, think lightly roasted nuts,
but there also was a green bean undertone to it that was quite lovely. The liquor
was very light, although if I used a white cup rather than a clear glass cup it
might have been easier to see.
For
my next infusion I brewed at 185°F for three minutes. While it still had a
nutty aroma, this time I could also distinguish some vegetal notes to it, a
little bamboo and peas. The taste was similar to the last, but less roasted
nuts and a new wet wood taste that lingered. The liquor was still light, but I
think I enjoyed this infusion more than the last; it’s not often that I taste a
wood element in a Long Jing.
For
my third and final infusion I brewed at 190°F for four minutes. The aroma was
very weak at this point; I could only get the nutty scent this time. The
strongest flavor this time was peas, and then a very generic nutty taste.
This
was quite an interesting Long Jing, if What-Cha stocks the 2015 spring harvest,
I’d buy again, I am interested if the grower and roaster can duplicate the
chocolate-mint aroma the dry leaves had.
I don’t think What-Cha mentioned what Tea Estate this tea came from, but
I wonder what side of the West Lake it is situated, although in the title it
says it is wild growing which leads me to believe it may have been in one of
the mountains as it doesn’t taste like Dragon Wells grown in some of the more
polluted areas of Zhejiang and that it is wild growing makes me think it comes
from a more affluent tea growing region (of Zhejiang). Overall it was a very
good tea that I am looking forward to having again.
I’ve been going through some of my older teas and
trying to make room for new ones and discovered two nearly empty canisters of Dragonwell
from Teavivre that I remember enjoying. So in the interest of making room for
new teas I decided the only logical thing to do is to revisit them.
Normally when I am sampling new teas I have a short
gongfu session, since I already tried these before I am going to forgo that and
go straight into western brewing. For my first infusion I brewed at 185℉ for four minutes. Immediately
I tasted a buttery vegetal flavor, somewhere between spinach and kale, a very
dark leafy flavor. There were slight orchid undertones to it, I imagine if I didn’t
brew the tea for so long this orchid taste would not be masked by the vegetal
taste as much. The aroma was quite pleasant, a little bit grassy and a little floral.
For my second infusion I brewed at 195℉ for six minutes. This
time the buttery taste was not as strong and mellowed out, and it was still
vegetal, but considerably sweeter than the last infusion. The aroma was grassy
rather than floral this time. While I could brew the leaves a third time even
though every infusion feels like it is sapping everything from the leaves.
I am in love with this long jing since I can just
keep rebrewing more and more; this is a very generous tea and certainly
can be an everyday type of tea.
For my first infusion I brewed at 185℉ for four minutes. This time the tea was
very creamy, a little artichoke, a strong nutty overtone and a pleasant unami aspect.
The aroma was very grassy, but not overpowering the nutty scent. I was quite
fond of this infusion while not as sweet as the Premium Dragonwell, it felt
more balanced.
For my next
infusion I brewed at 195℉
for six minutes. This time the flavor was nuttier than anything else, although I
could still taste the artichoke in it, but it was not as pronounced. The aroma
was even lovelier then the last; this time it smelled more like roasted
chestnuts then a general nutty smell.
I have enjoyed both
long jings, but I am fonder of the Premium version than the Organic Superfine
version, even though the Organic felt more balanced, the Premium had some nice
contrasting flavors. It was floral yet grassy, and lingered more so then the
Organic. While I do enjoy the Organic Superfine Dragonwell, it felt more like a
palate cleanser, especially since it stayed nutty.
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