One of my tea goals for 2014, in addition to Not Buying Any Teas in January (check) and Trying All The Peach Teas (working on it) is to try more unflavoured greens. This tea fits the bill.
My aggressive lack of knowledge about various tea regions and leaf types really puts a hamper on things, though – it’s very hard to discuss something completely out of context. I feel like I’m a kid at one of those Kid’s Day at the Art Museum type events – you know, a four-year-old pointing at a Mirò, howling, ‘Nana spilled lemonade on the wall!!!’
Cute? Yes. Helpful? No.
With this tea, for example, there is a dominant scent and flavour I can’t quite place – it’s not like something I’ve had before, but it’s sweet, and light, and subtly perfumed. It seems too easy to always retreat to ‘grassy’, or, ‘vegetal’, or ‘buttery’, or ‘hay-like’, because most unflavoured greens (and oolongs) have those characteristics to varying degrees.
I don’t quite know what to do about it – is this a typical LongJing? How do I know unless I drink more LongJings? Where do I find a LongJing to compare it to around midnight on a Sunday in Rome? (It’s probably best not to ask, there’s no telling what goes on in the park where I live after dark.)
It’s a little frustrating. I know I enjoyed the f*ck out of this cup and that it made me happy and smiley and that I really want to drink more unflavoured green teas.
That’ll just have to do for now.
[Sample from the second round of the EU Travelling Box, spring 2014.]
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I think you did an excellent job reviewing this tea. You have:sweet, light, perfumed. You have told us it is a green tea. That is all I need. And long jing = dragon well (don’t know if that helps at all).
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
And yes, the dragon well thing helps. I know I can and should (and I will) do more research on this as I go along – it’s just, research is what I do, all day, every day, and so far my tea hobby has been so completely removed from that.
Like, I know what a peach tastes like! And I have all these deeply personal recollections that go with a tea! And then I just write that down! So relaxing.
Your tasting notes are always awesome. Period. You describe things so perfectly. I only know one other writer like you.
I think with tea reviews, at least here on steepster, we all enjoy hearing about one another lives, opinion, emotions, etc, as it pertains to this cup of tea, LOL. So well done! :D
I think you did an excellent job reviewing this tea. You have:sweet, light, perfumed. You have told us it is a green tea. That is all I need. And long jing = dragon well (don’t know if that helps at all).
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
And yes, the dragon well thing helps. I know I can and should (and I will) do more research on this as I go along – it’s just, research is what I do, all day, every day, and so far my tea hobby has been so completely removed from that.
Like, I know what a peach tastes like! And I have all these deeply personal recollections that go with a tea! And then I just write that down! So relaxing.
Your tasting notes are always awesome. Period. You describe things so perfectly. I only know one other writer like you.
I think with tea reviews, at least here on steepster, we all enjoy hearing about one another lives, opinion, emotions, etc, as it pertains to this cup of tea, LOL. So well done! :D