About Green Tea
Green tea is quickly dried after picking to preserve the flavor, scent, and nutrients, and prevent oxidation.
Further Information
GOTD-Green of the Day is a running thread devoted the green teas we drink every day.
Further Information
GOTD-Green of the Day is a running thread devoted the green teas we drink every day.
Chinese Green Teas
Silver Needle
nff This was absolutely stunning: smooth light floral and citrusy. First infusion smelled almost like a jasmine tea but tasted lightly of lemon peel. Second infusion was still floral and had hints of orange zest. Slightly dry mouth feel but no astringency. Fantastic! I managed to get 4 infusions out of it. 30s 50s 1:10s 2m, water was around 150F.
Korean Green Teas
2010 Hwagae Valley-Korean Sejak
tea goober Ive been participating in a Korean tea tasting that's being sponsored by Matt (Mattchas Blog) and Dao Teas. This is a handmade traditional Korean green tea that is made by tea master Kim Jong Yeol and grown in the Hwagae Valley. It's a high quality but just not doing it for me. Slightly vegetal, slightly sweet, tart with a touch of egg white in the aroma. Not one of the best Korean tea Ive tried, but decent enough, I guess. The Sejak comes from the second picking of the season. The first pick is Ujeon and the third, Jungjak. Korean greens really are unique, you really can't compare them to any other greens, China or Japan. They are deserving of more recognition, but nobodys going to reconize them at the current prices.
2010 Dong Cheon - Hwagae Village Ujeon
tea goober Ujeon is a Korean green tea that is made from the first pluck. Only the very first bud - leaf sets are used. Dong Cheon is one of Korea's high end tea makers. The method that he uses to make his teas is called "Jeong Cha" a technique that has it's roots in China but is seldom used anymore. Jeong Cha is the "kill green" stage in tea making. Jeong Cha involves quickly submerging the freshly picked leaf in near boiling water to stop the oxidation of the leaf. The more common method is to heat the leaf in a large wok to stop the oxidation. Jeong Cha also is different in that the leaf is throughly dried and shaped all in one step in the wok. The more common method is to partially dry the leaf, take it out of the wok for shaping and rolling, back into the wok, back out etc. This is done typically for four to five times before the leaf is finnished. The end result using the Jeong Cha is the tea has much more depth of flavor and aroma.
This Ujeon is very expensive, 10, 3.3 gm. packets in a deluxe canister will set you back $60.00. Yep, 33 gms of tea for $60.00! But this stuff is absolutely delicious. This tea was donated to "Tea Goober" by Tea Trekker, my all time favorite vendor for China greens.