Green Tea

[Edcculus]

I've been getting into drinking a lot of green tea, and was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers. I have a small beehouse teapot I ordered from Special Teas. The green tea sampler was sold out when I ordered, so I got three random small samples. I think I got the Superior Lung Ching (Dragons Well) Organic, Green Darj Dhajea FTGFOP1 2nd Flush, and I forget the last one.

The bad thing is that my favorite one was the Lung Ching. Now I see that it is one of the more expensive green teas.

I was just wondering if anyone had some suggestions on the different varieties of green teas. I'm kind of confused by all the nomenclature.

[jellywerker]

I enjoy all lighter teas, and the occasional dark tea, and I must say I really like the 2nd flush darjeeling and the high quality japanese style matcha teas (tea powder that is mixed inrather than steeped). Matcha has a very different taste to it than a normal steeped green tea, more food like and nourishing in my opinion. So give those a try and see what you think. As far as tea goes, I think you'll be safe ordering randomly until you find something you like so long as you stay away from large sizes. Nothing like ordering 1lb of a smoked tea only to fiind you dislike it.

[ouch]

Don't despair- dragon well is one of the easiest teas to find. There are a million levels of quality, but you shouldn't have any trouble finding a reasonably priced one that you enjoy.

www.tenrenusa.com has some nice tea, too.

[iron maiden]

Chinese Gunpowder is a really nice green tea....

[Sandcounty]

If you like black tea I strongly recommend Mauritius. I drink it with a little bit of cream. IMO it has no equal. If steeped longer than a minute it gets bitter though. Not as healthy as green tea, but not as bad as coffee.

[Hobbesoxon]

Did someone say "tea"?!

Longjing [a.k.a. "Lung Ching" in Cantonese, or "Dragon Well"] is pretty much the classic Chinese green tea. It's the tea that Chairman Mao served to Nixon on his landmark visit, "opening up China to the world", as the history books say. Every year, there are longjing roasting competitions (longjing is lightly roasted) by a handful of "champion roasters", the resultant teas from which are sold for vast, vast, vast sums of cash. Due to its status as the most prestigious of the "Ten Famous Chinese Teas" [Shi Da Ming Cha, in Mandarin], it costs a lot.

You can get other teas which cost a fraction of the cost of a (good) longjing, and which provide similar satisfaction. If you like the beany-roastedness of longjing, look into Biluochun [Spring Snail Green] and Xinyang Maojian. These are also in the "Ten Famous Chinese Teas", and for good reason, but they're much less expensive than a true longjing.

The second tea that you mention is a Darjeeling, of a fairly decent grade. I am hugely skeptical of green Darjeelings, given that Darjeelings are traditionally not green (being "red teas" - that is, dark and fully-oxidised, rather than the unoxidised green form). There are modern movements to make Darjeeling into all manner of crazy forms, including wulong [Oolong, partially oxidised], which (personally speaking) I don't find to be much good. If I want wulong, I'll buy proper wulong, not Darjeeling. Similarly, if I want green, I'll buy proper green, not Darjeeling. However, if I'm looking for a delicious, rock-solid, malty and fine red tea, then I probably will head towards Darjeeling - they're classic for a reason (and latterly dubbed the "champagne of teas" for their lightness and crisp clarity).

Don't worry too much about the nomenclature. The entire thing is confused by the fact that all the names appear randomly in English ("Dragon Well"), Cantonese ("Lung Ching"), and Mandarin ("Longjing"). The industry is gradually moving towards standardised Mandarin as far as I can tell, but there are plenty of Internet vendors using whatever terminology they like - or mixtures of it! This makes buying tea fairly hard unless you have a trusted vendor.

Tenren teas, mentioned above, are OK. I would recommend http://www.teaspring.com/ for getting into green teas. There's plenty of information on the site, and all their teas are really excellent - they're very reliable. (I add that I have no connection to them, apart from being a happy customer.)

There are plenty of "tea-heads" on these boards, so do please feel free to ask any questions that you may have, as they're a friendly bunch. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Hobbesoxon]

Chinese Gunpowder is a really nice green tea....

This one's interesting, I got into green tea with it when I was at school. However, it's the tea that doesn't really exist - there's no repeatable, dependable format for "gunpowder tea", it being really the manner of presentation (in rolled pellets, like gunpowder pellets). The closest you can find to a real tea that matches what Western vendors sell as "Gunpowder" is "Longzhu" ("Dragon Pearls").

I'm really skeptical of web-sites that sell "Gunpowder" tea - it usually means they don't really know what they're selling. Check out that TeaSpring link - no Gunpowder to be found. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Hobbesoxon]

I enjoy all lighter teas, and the occasional dark tea, and I must say I really like the 2nd flush darjeeling and the high quality japanese style matcha teas (tea powder that is mixed inrather than steeped). Matcha has a very different taste to it than a normal steeped green tea, more food like and nourishing in my opinion. So give those a try and see what you think. As far as tea goes, I think you'll be safe ordering randomly until you find something you like so long as you stay away from large sizes. Nothing like ordering 1lb of a smoked tea only to fiind you dislike it.

Good advice! Don't buy anything in quantity until you've sampled it. Any good tea vendor will sell you a batch of samples so that you can try out a range of teas and find your favourite. It's really unacceptable for them not to do so, as ending up with a lb of tea that you don't like is fairly silly.

I'd be wary about getting into matcha (Japanese powdered tea) as a beginner. This is a tea which is traditionally prepared with a whisk in a bowl (not entirely dissimilar to a brush and lather bowl!), and is very "high maintenance". Because it's powdered, it's also fairly hard to discern its quality until it's too late, and it's also fairly unforgiving to brew, in my experience.

If you're just getting into tea, spend some time with the simpler (and, I believe, more complex and enjoyable) Chinese whole-leaf greens. Then check out some wulong ["Oolong"]. Then check out some other types... and you'll be drinking hardcore pu'er with the rest of us die-hards before too long. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[TimmyBoston]

I had a pot of China Green Yannan Silver Tips from SpecialTeas tonight. Very good stuff.

[solloron]

I may have this considered blasphemy...but if your kinda in a hurry and what a good cup of tea...the republic of tea does it for me...i really like there blueberry green tea...mmmmm

[Hobbesoxon]

I had a pot of China Green Yannan Silver Tips from SpecialTeas tonight. Very good stuff.

Well well, Yunnan Green isn't something you see every day! Teaheads love Yunnan for its Pu'er and Dianhong, of course. I wonder if the Yunnan Green is unoxidised Dianhong. What's your impression of it?


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[neilxvx]

I've worked in several coffee shops over the past few years. I've always been a strict connoisseur of African coffee but this one coffee shop I worked at sold Might Leaf tea. It comes in these great pouches that don't get soggy. The leafs inside the pouch are WHOLE and they taste wonderful. They have great black and white teas, although I haven't tried many of the greens.

[Hobbesoxon]

I may have this considered blasphemy...but if your kinda in a hurry and what a good cup of tea...the republic of tea does it for me...i really like there blueberry green tea...mmmmm

Blasphemy indeed... unless it tastes good, in which case you're fine. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Hobbesoxon]

I've worked in several coffee shops over the past few years. I've always been a strict connoisseur of African coffee but this one coffee shop I worked at sold Might Leaf tea. It comes in these great pouches that don't get soggy. The leafs inside the pouch are WHOLE and they taste wonderful. They have great black and white teas, although I haven't tried many of the greens.

Mighty Leaf... that's a new one on me. I love the web-site. These types of vendors are usually filed under "noncy hand-made bags filled with average-quality tea", but this one looks pretty decent! It's a good way to drink bagged tea, that's for sure.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[neilxvx]

I love their teas. The pouches also come with different flowers and stuff in them, and have a very nice aesthetically pleasing. They aren't average tea bags I'm almost sure of it.

[tim]

I dropped using Special Tea because they spammed me after I told them not to do that. So, I contacted them and told them I was registered as their version of "do not contact with sales" stuff and they spammed me again. Luckily, I found Lori at The Tea Table.

Oddly, I had started my journey at Tea Talk. Luckily, since that gentleman has passed, a sponsor has kept the site alive.

I recommend you make a list of types as your major category and regions as a minor category and keep tasting notes. So, for example:

• Black
  
  • China
    
    • Here you would list the tea name and notes about the liquor color, "nose", and whether or not you would drink it again. Within each category, I now try to note a preferred order of preference, like 1st, 2nd, etc.
  • Assam
  • Ceylon
• Green
  
  • China
  • Japan
• Rooiboss (teasane)
• Herbal (teasane)
• etc.

Then you can discover what you prefer. I also keep my teas store in this fashion since I tend to pick them first, based on the amount of caffeine or flavor I want.

For me, I generally prefer less Ceylon teas, which, while not quit as full-bodied as an Assam, are less astringent. The Lumbini
was exactly as Lori lists, it was a tea to cherish (I've got stock here at the house and at the office ).

As far as gear goes, you'll also need a water boiling pot. I got one from Target for $20 that works great in the office (a lot of tea drinkers).

I have a couple Bee House tea pots and, while there is no perfect tea pot, they do the job. For me, they tend to spill, so I bought a little spout gadget that minimizes that for a couple of bucks.

[stormtrooper]

I enjoy Genmaicha tea it is refreshing and comforting with a toasty aroma and a nutty taste.

[Hobbesoxon]

It's interesting, though green and red teas ("black teas" in English) are very pleasant, most of the tea-drinkers I know have gravitated towards the various kinds of wulong (i.e., Wuyi yancha, Taiwanese, Phoenix Dancong) or pu'er. They seem to offer more deep-rooted satisfaction and depth of character, compared to the pleasant, but ultimately short-lived and much simpler greens and reds. Any thoughts?

For those looking to branch out, I would recommend a good Taiwanese "Dongding" wulong, or maybe a Wuyi "Dahongpao" Yancha (rock tea). Pu'er is a whole world unto itself of course... :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Scotto]

Green tea is a funny business. Initially you can be pleased with fairly inexpensive options, but as you gain experience you can become very unsatisfied with lower grades of tea. They can get quite pricey per pound, though of course the per cup cost is very small.

I am a Longjing fan, but you really need to sample to find a good version. I am currently sipping this one, but there are lots of good sources out there. I'll also agree with Hobbes assertion that like marijuana leading to harder drugs , greens inevitably lead you to wulongs. As for pu'er, those that I have tried smell like my basement.

[Hobbesoxon]

I'll also agree with Hobbes assertion that like marijuana leading to harder drugs , greens inevitably lead you to wulongs. As for pu'er, those that I have tried smell like my basement.

Then you, sir, need to try some good pu'er! Send me a PM if you like, and I can pop some samples into the post. I've got shelves of the darned stuff, courtesy of advanced TAD...


Toodlepip,

Hobbes