For a spring project, I decided to compare three Mingqian teas: Bi Luo Chun, Longjing, and Anji Bai Cha. In total, I bought 340 g of green tea, which in hindsight is a lot of green tea. I seriously overestimated how much green tea I would be able and willing to drink, which is why this little experiment is still ongoing. For Part 2 of this three-part extravaganza, I bought four Longjings from Teavivre, Treasure Green, and Seven Cups.
Tea bush: Not specified
Harvest date: March 20, 2024
Location: West Lake, Zhejiang
Price/g: US$1.83
Treasure Green sells two grades of dragonwell, with this being the more expensive one. Apparently, it comes from a higher altitude than their regular Longjing and is made by a tea master with 70 years of experience. No information is provided about which Longjing variety it is. For the comparison session, I steeped 2.4 g of all four teas in 120 ml of 185F water, starting at 4 minutes. This produced very potent, not to say bitter, steeps! Following the vendor’s instructions, I then steeped 3 g of leaf in 150 ml of 158F water for 25 seconds, and subsequently used 148F water for steeps of 35, 45, 60, 90, 180, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of hazelnuts, chestnuts, roasted grains, char, and butter. This tea has a heavier roast and some bitterness, with candied chestnuts, grains, beans, kale, florality, and butter. It has a pronounced beany aftertaste. Later steeps feel quite rounded and nutty, though the tea is somewhat vegetal and bitter.
Using the vendor’s very gentle steeping instructions, I initially get soft, round notes of butter, chestnuts, roast, green beans, and other veggies and a tea that’s smooth, sweet, and slightly drying in the mouth. Steeps three and four add green peppers, lettuce, grass, and spinach, with the roast and nuts nicely counterbalancing the veggies. The final steeps feature beans, lettuce, nuts, roast, and grass, and have some woody bitterness and dryness. The nutty aroma at the bottom of the cup is lovely!
This Longjing is all about the roast, which is done pretty well. Steeped according to the vendor’s instructions, it’s nutty, sweet, smooth, and pleasant. I like a bit more florality in my Longjing, but that might be a personal preference.
Flavors: Bitter, Butter, Char, Chestnut, Grain, Grass, Green Beans, Green Pepper, Hazelnut, Kale, Lettuce, Nutty, Roasted, Round, Smooth, Spinach, Sweet, Vegetal, Wood
