GOTD- Green of the Day

[nff]

not in my usuall fasion but heres a verry confusing tea.

2009 snow dragon.
5.2g in dayi gaiwan 80c water
1st 1M: floral citrus aroma floral on the tongue which finishes in a oolong esque way.

2nd 1m: more oolong less floral
3rd:2.5m citrus oolong

why is this so confusing? well ill tell ya.
1 it looks like a white
2 infuses like a white
3 smells cross beteween a oolong and green
4 tastes like a oolong
5 is classified a green.

[ambrose]

Shincha Matcha - 1940's chawan

[Proinsias]

Odd sounding tea nff, I wonder if it being 2009 has something to do with it? I've had some Darjeelings that seem like a mix of oolong, white and green but nothing from China.

Nice chawan Ambrose.

Some of Master Luo's lily scented long jing today. It came as a freebie, I'm not big on scented teas but this is a good one. Heavy on the high quality long jing, light on the lily petals. A pleasant taste of spring.

[nff]

nope it tasted really similar to what i discribed back when i bought it. if you check through the thread im sure i posted a similar post a few years back.

[nff]

well its time for a bump

[grasshopper]

Yang Yan Gou Qing. Always a favorite. Some greens tend to carry citrus notes. Other green teas seem more vegetal. YYGQ is the best of both, and the finish is wonderfully evocative of candy. Herb, fruit, brown sugar, orange, grass. YYGQ procured in the spring seems to improve during the year.

[nff]

had a session of sencha.

[nff]

had a round of gyokuro with my mom before watching a movie.

[sbain]

Had a great cup of Peets gunpowder tonight. Oh the joys of working security in a building full of tea enthusiasts, and having access to such luxury!

[Tummers09]

Hmm... Well, I can't say much about tea, because I can't taste the difference so much unless it's really bad, but I really enjoy Boulder Blues from the Tea Spot. It has a very unique aroma. Flowery and sweet. It'll make a nice start to my day, typically.

[nff]

[hide][top]Lung Ching Superior - Its About Tea

First from the new haul will be one i'v been looking forward to for quite some time. Lung/Long Ching from Its about Tea. A well known and sought after tea from china.


This is what the vendor has to say about it:

Lung-Ching (Dragon’s Well) – Superior Grade – Harvested at the beginning of the spring season, the leaves are traditionally picked before “Tomb-Sweeping Day” in April and before the spring rains. When the leaves are infused they unfurl displaying one perfect tea bud and a leaf. The liquor is a beautiful, bright, emerald green and the flavour is smooth, gentle and slightly sweet. The leaves can be infused at least four times, each time releasing more delicate flavour. This tea is a green tea lover’s delight.




Lets brew this:


Ammount:
4.7g in dayi gaiwan 80c

First infusion: 2m

Hmm this is unlike anything i'v ever had before. I cant seem to wrap my head around what im tasting. It's heavy almost roasted but its got this almoast herbal medicinal taste to it.. Maybe i steeped too long?.




Second Infusion: 1:30

Light dryness on the tongue but a seaweed bitterness? there is also a deceptive lactate sweetness ghosting around too. Roasted nuts also float around on the pallet. Extended finish has a hint of citrus?




Third Infusion: 2m

Light flavor mostly nutty, sweet. Now im getting why people love this tea.




Fourth infusion: 3m

Creamy nutty sweet slightly seaweed.




Fifth infusion: 4m




Similar to above.

Final thoughts:
At first this tea most likely due to my own blunder was throwing me for a loop. but once I finally got it settled down it turned into something truly lovely. It's nutty vegital creamy sweet and not grassy or astringent at all. I will likely re visit this blog post when i get how to brew this properly from the start and edit it.

[Kazeryu]

Trying some generic houji cha today.

It tastes very similar to a light no-name oolong that I got from a supermarket.

Is houji cha supposed to taste like this?

[nff]

houji cha is toasted bancha right? if so then it could taste like that or more of a dark toast flavor.

[Kazeryu]

Had some Lung Ching this morning. Nice and nutty.

Edit: This Lung Ching is from It's About Tea, and is much nicer than my supermarket Dragonwell which has a bit of a dusty taste.

I think freshness is considered very important in Lung Ching? Perhaps that is part of the difference.

It's also interesting to see the colour change so quickly in the tea. When brewed, it is a fresh clear jade. After returning from a meeting it has faded to a golden yellow. This is one of the reasons I enjoy my glass teapot.

[Kazeryu]

Sipping some Lung Ching again. Nutty.

[Kazeryu]

Just got a big order of green tea from YS since they are fire-sale-ing last year's harvest of greens. I know you're supposed to drink it harvest-fresh but with my level of green appreciation last year's should be fine. And even being 'stale' it will still be far ahead of most of my previous experience.

First time with Cui Ming (Spring 2012) today. Drank the first steep (~60+s) during a meeting, so I didn't record much other than "yummy". Infusion looks a bit more like a white tea than a green ... very light colour, slow to appear.

Coming back to it after lunch the damp leaves have an almost-pleasant almost-not sour smell to them which I found very difficult to place. Leaves are small and complete... looks like two per stem on several pieces I pulled out. Second steep is still fragrant and tastes somewhat thick and green. I'm looking forward to gettting to know this one better.

[grasshopper]

Premium Gunpowder from Yat at Grand Tea. 20X better than the gunpowder I bought from domestic stores thirteen years ago. This tea is fruity, sweet, and luscious, less tightly rolled and not as dark as others of its ilk I bought way back. Hong cha available to us might not be as good as it used to be, but green tea, it seems, has improved. ~grasshopper