Spring is here, and it is high time for me to focus on fine green teas like this one. Out with the old, in with the new! Although of course I will always need a good black tea throughout the year, now is when my tea tastings will hopefully include more of the flavors of spring, with an emphasis on lovely fruit and floral flavors coming from fine greens, delicate whites, and lighter oolongs.
I thought this Green Snail Spring would be a perfect place to start in expanding my green tea experience. It did not disappoint, and has provided me with a nice tasty cup on the several occasions I have had it (I wanted to hold off on the review until I had tasted it several times, just to get a full appreciation of it, since we all know how the same tea can taste slightly different from day to day.) I just finished my 5th tasting of this so I think it’s safe to venture writing a tea log note.
I followed my usual teapot method, heating water to not quite boiling and then letting it cool to about 175 degrees. I allowed the tea to steep for 4 minutes, but I tasted it earlier at 3 and 3.5 minutes for full effect, because I know greens are typically steeped at that or even shorter periods (I just don’t usually appreciate them that early on…I can’t taste much of anything, so 3 minutes is the earliest I can really enjoy green teas.)
At 3 minutes, the tea tasted simple and pleasant: light, slightly sweet, and that’s about it.
At 4 minutes, it was just right in my opinion. No bitterness, dryness, or astringency. Just a nice, simple, slightly sweet vegetal flavor reminiscent of a spring garden full of fresh sugar snap peas. I also could say it had notes of asparagus as well. Previous tastings had also provided me with a very slight nutty flavor, almost like a whisper of almond and walnut, but not completely—just a faint hint. It seems that sometimes I taste more of the sweet floral (honeysuckle?)/sweet vegetal (snap peas), and other times more of the nut/asparagus.
Either way, it’s a very delicious tea overall: light, delicate, unassuming but quite flavorful, something that you can drink multiple cups of and not feel too much “green-tea” strength in the stomach. Very enjoyable, indeed!
