Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
This delicious organic Dragon Well is grown in the hills of Zhejiang Province near Long Jing, the village where this famous tea originated. The green tea leaves are picked young and taken back to the village where the skilled tea masters use their bare hands to press them flat in a hot, dry wok in the traditional way. This arrests the oxidation process and ensures the liquor carries the notes of freshly cut grass, rounded off by a soft, nutty flavour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love a really good Dragon Well – or Long Jing Green Tea – and this Organic Dragon Well Green Tea from Canton Tea Co. is REALLY good.
Whenever spring approaches, one of the questions that’s often asked among tea drinkers is ‘where are you getting this year’s Dragon Well? And while there are many fine purveyors of exceptional Dragon Well teas, this Organic Dragon Well from Canton is one of the better Dragon Well teas that I’ve tried and I’ve tried quite a few. Only a few of them are teas that I can recall from memory as being really good – this would be one of those ‘really good’ Dragon Well teas that I’ll remember!
It’s so sweet, lightly grassy/vegetative with hints of butter. The buttery notes give the somewhat grassy taste more of a vegetable type of flavor, evoking thoughts of freshly steamed green beans that have been lightly drizzled with melted butter. It has a pleasantly creamy texture. There’s very little astringency (next to no astringency!) and no bitterness.
And it’s a tea that keeps on steeping! I got three very flavorful infusions out of one measurement of leaves! So get your mileage out of this tea and take it for a couple of infusions!
I’ve often heard that the proper way to drink a Dragon Well is in a tall glass with the leaves sitting in the bottom of the glass and as you drink the liquid, keep adding more water – and you drink it like this all day long. Now, I’ve never tried my Dragon Well like this. The truth is that my first experience with Dragon Well wasn’t a positive experience.
I don’t know if that bad experience with the Dragon Well was because at the time I was a bit of a novice when it comes to brewing green teas in general and the water I used was too hot, or if it was possibly because the Dragon Well that I had at the time was of a lesser quality, all I know is that I did not like it!
And after that experience, I was very hesitant to try another Dragon Well. Until I finally did and I realized, “HEY! I like this!” That realization could have been due to the fact that I knew better ways to brew green teas or again, it could have been the quality. But, I’m more inclined to believe that it had more to do with the fact that I knew how to steep a green tea at that point.
But because of that first experience, I’m hesitant to try my Dragon Well teas a different way. I found the way I enjoy them, so why fix it if it ain’t broken, right?
Back to THIS Dragon Well – this is one I’d suggest trying. This could be your new Dragon Well!
2014 Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong Oolong Tea from Grand Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Grand Tea
Tea Description:
Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong Limited Stock Dan Cong is family of stripe-style oolong teas from Guangdong Province. Dancong teas are noted for their ability to naturally imitate the flavors and fragrances of various flowers and fruits, such as orange blossom, orchid, grapefruit, almond, ginger flower, etc. This particular Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong oolong has a lovely aroma and a sweetness reminds of honey.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s Oolong time! Oh, happy day, today I’m drinking this delightful Zhi Lan Xiang Dan Cong Oolong Tea from Grand Tea that was harvested in 2014. It’s fresh and it is really good.
Really good!
It’s sweet! And just as the description above suggests, it is very reminiscent of a honey-like sweetness. I taste notes of fruit – a slightly under-ripe plum that’s both sweet and just a little sour. There’s a hint of grapefruit, I taste that tangy note from grapefruit as well as just a hint of the bitterness that I’d taste from the citrus fruit. I am also noticing a woodsy tone that continues to develop as I sip this first cup (infusions 1 and 2 following a 15 second rinse.)
The second cup (infusions 3 and 4) offered stronger fruit notes – I can really taste the grapefruit note this time! It’s a bright note, complex with notes that are tart and sweet. I find that the aforementioned plum note is maybe less prominent, allowing for the notes of the grapefruit to shine through. Lots of sweet honey taste and I taste less of the woodsy tone that I noticed with the last cup. This cup is all about sweet honey and fruit!
Later infusions produced a more unified taste. The honey notes became smoother and softer, while the tangy notes of fruit became more subdued, allowing for the sweetness of the fruit and some notes of flower to emerge.
I really enjoyed this tea. Yes, this Dan Cong Oolong would be welcome in my teacup anytime!
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Product Description:
Jasmine Phoenix Pearls are perfumy, hand-rolled jewels of tea from Fuding, in Fujian province, China. Any fan of jasmine tea should try this specially crafted wonder. When added to hot water, Jasmine Phoenix Pearls majestically unfurl, releasing their delicate scent and flavor. Also known as ‘Jasmine Dragon Pearls’, their liquor is sweet and almost sugary. Very soft, airy mouthfeel. The delicate quality of the flavor is due in part to the leaves used to produce this tea: two tender, tiny new leaves and one plump unopened leaf bud. Younger leaves will yield softer flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a little bit like my revisiting a tea, because I did previously review Jasmine Pearls from Adagio. However, since these are loose pearls, and my review was of Adagio’s sacheted Jasmine Pearls – which were part of Adagio Teas’ lovely Artisan Comfort gift box – I feel like I can get away with revisiting this one.
And as you are probably aware by now (assuming that you’ve been reading my blog regularly!), I adore Jasmine Pearls!
I brewed these pearls in my gaiwan and I combined the first five infusions in my designated especially for Jasmine Tea Yixing Mug. And what a lovely experience these Jasmine Phoenix Pearls from Adagio offer! The jasmine notes are soft and sweet and exotic. The green tea has a fresh, subtle vegetal tone that marries beautifully with the flowery essence that has been imparted onto the tender tea leaves by the jasmine flower.
And the fragrance is heavenly! Every time I lift the lid of my Yixing mug and raise it to my lips, my nose is enchanted by the aroma of jasmine and green tea. It’s so wonderfully perfumed without coming across as something you’d find in a bottle of perfume. It doesn’t come across as something that belongs at a department store cologne counter. It is light, airy … almost like a sweet breeze that has been delicately scented with the flower as it passed through the vines of a jasmine plant. So beautiful!
The sip begins with the sweet notes of jasmine that wash over the palate, and as my taste buds experience the soft floral notes, they start to also pick up on the notes of lush green tea. Not really grassy, and there isn’t a heavy vegetative flavor. Instead it just has a soft “green” sort of flavor. It has a soft, silky texture and there’s a hint of buttery flavor to it. The flavor remains smooth through to the finish, and there’s very little notable astringency. The aftertaste is sweet with floral tones.
A really good Jasmine!
White Monkey Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Little Red Cup Tea’s organic White Monkey Tea is a terrific mountain-grown tea from western Hunan Province. Despite its name, White Monkey Tea is, in fact, a green tea — a function of processing — but when steeped, the tightly rolled leaves unfurl yielding a lovely golden brew more akin to white tea than anything else. It is made from the earliest leaves, still covered with downy white hairs for which the tea is named.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A lovely tea, this White Monkey Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.! The texture is what captures my attention immediately, it’s so soft and silky. It’s like a fine broth, very gentle and soothing as it floats across the palate.
The flavor is a gentle green tea flavor. The “grassy/vegetative” tones here are very subtle, much softer than in a typical green tea. This tea is called “White Monkey” not because it’s a white tea, but because the leaves have the tiny, white fuzz (similar to what you’d find on a Silver Needle tea!) But, even though it is not a white tea, it does share something in common with a white tea – it’s delicate quality.
The flavor is so delicate! And I like that! I suppose a stronger flavor could have been obtained with more leaf, or with a longer steep time (I steeped this for 2 minutes in 175°F water in my Breville One-Touch), but I like it this way – I like the gentle quality of this tea.
The sip starts with the soft texture, which gently introduces the delicate vegetative notes that are influenced by whispers of floral tones. By mid-sip, I notice a buttery flavor which complements the texture of the tea very well. The finish brings hints of a fruit like note, almost citrus-y. The aftertaste has a slightly sweet, slightly tangy note. There is very little astringency to this, and absolutely no bitterness.
This is a really nice green tea offering from Little Red Cup Tea Co., and I’m thinking it’s one of my favorites that I’ve tried thus far from them!
Jasmine Pearls Mo Li Hua Green Tea from Yezi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Yezi Tea
Tea Description:
This exquisite organic green tea is harvested in the city of Fuzhou in the famed Fujian province of China. Mo Li Hua is sold as a mix of carefully oxidized green-tea leaves and fragrant jasmine flowers.
Jasmine is the municipal flower of Fuzhou—and for good reason. The citizens of Fuzhou know that there are fewer sensations more rejuvenating than the fragrance of jasmine flowers wafting through their windows on evenings ideal for quiet contemplation. Now you, too, can enjoy this carefully handcrafted loose-leaf green tea. Be sure to note how, as soon as the Mo Li Hua leaves come into contact with water, they expand into exquisite floral patterns, further accentuating the goodness of the brew.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love jasmine pearls! And these Jasmine Pearls Mo Li Hua Green Tea from Yezi Tea are some of the finest I’ve tried. The aroma is captivating, and the flavor … amazing. And drinking jasmine teas is always a treat for me … not just because I love jasmine, but it also means that I get to get out my Yixing mug. It’s Jasmine time!
The leaves have been carefully wound into small pellets, and these “pearls” slowly unfurl to release their flavor. It’s fun to watch them do their elegant dance in the hot water, so if you have a glass gaiwan … you should use it to brew this tea!
This is a lovely jasmine tea. The jasmine is not nearly as strong in flavor as the fragrance suggests. It is a highly aromatic tea: both the dry leaf and the brewed tea emit an outstanding bouquet. But the flavor of the jasmine is soft and smooth … not at all perfume-y. It is beautifully exotic and feminine without tasting like a bar of soap from one of those luxury bath stores in the mall.
The green tea is sweet and it has a delicate taste that is a perfect complement to the subtle taste of the jasmine flower. There is no sharpness and very little astringency here. It’s just a pleasure to sip, from start to finish.
Yet another amazing tea from Yezi Tea … I’m really impressed with this company thus far!