Everyone, brace yourselves, I am about to use the the phrase ‘is whack’ in a sentence unironically. My sleep schedule is whack because instead of sleeping last night before my friend’s graduation I decided to stay up all night. It was all good though, the graduation was a ceremony, I got to be a photographer, and the University Dean thought I was a Grad Student because I am so knowledgeable. I think my nerd score just went up a level on that one. Today we are looking at another of of my backlogged journal entries from earlier times!
Young Hyson from Upton Tea Imports is a Chinese Green Tea of the Chun Mee family (meaning it is a small, twisted leaf) and is known as Yu Chin Ch’a in China. There is a bit of contention about the name Hyson though, it is not clear if it is named for the English tea merchant Phillip Hyson or if it is a descriptive name (flourishing spring) for its time of harvest. The aroma of this tea is vegetal and sweet mixing notes of artichoke, white grapes, and a hint of citrus. It is mild and refreshing, the aroma is very much so something I would want refreshing me on a warm day.
Once the leaves are introduced to their watery bath the aroma become much sweeter and citrusy. I notice that it is no longer a vegetal aroma but a vegetation aroma that wafts out of the steeped leaves. It is very much the aroma of things growing in springtime. The liquid is surprisingly mild, there is very little aroma except for a delicate hint of vegetal, specifically spinach.
The taste is mild, mixing fresh spring green with a touch of bitterness that is similar to arugala. The comparison to bitter greens is actually not far off with this tea, it is a touch bitter, a touch savory, and a touch vegetal. There is also a gentle smokey aftertaste that fades fairly quickly. This tea is not a bad tea but it is also not one to write home about, I found it unspectacular and would choose other greens over this tea. I did find that as it cools it takes on a sweet and floral note which makes me curious as to how it would taste as an iced tea. Perhaps I will have to give this tea another visit when Summer comes around again!
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/12/upton-tea-import-young-hyson-tea-review.html
