Seven Cups

This is a wonderful everyday green tea. The leaves are handpicked, and they have retained their wholeness until they reach the cup. It is not every day that we find a tea this cheap, and still be able to appreciate mostly whole leaves at the bottom of the gaiwan. The aroma is complex, the flavor is nutty and vegetal, and you can get at least five steepings out of this cheap cheap tea! I highly recommend this to any Chinese tea drinker.

I haven’t tried this tea since 2010, when the Seven Cups store in Denver was still open. It has a wonderfully, complex, malty flavor. My dad was drinking it, so I only had a taste, but it left a lasting mark upon my memory. Unfortunately, Seven Cups no longer sells this tea, so I’ll have to go with the next best thing. I miss it greatly.

This is definitely one of the best green teas that I have ever tried. The prominent flavor is a sweetness from the unusually high concentration of amino acids. Below this are hints of rose petals, cantaloupe, and button mushroom. It yields a full flavor in a gaiwan for at least three steepings. I am currently finishing my 2011 stock, a gift from my dad, and I am avidly awaiting the 2012 crop, which should be in the next week (April 15 or so).

A truly outstanding green tea. If it wasn’t for the price, I would be drinking it every day!

This tea never gets bitter. A sign of a good quality white scented tea. What I do: I simply put the pearls in a cup and drink, blowing away any leaves on the surface. It is not quite as good as their other jasmine teas, especially the silver dragon pearls and snow drop jasmine, but it has a stronger flavor than both of these, which satisfies my taste. The jasmine aroma is not overpowering, and the flavor of the tea comes through nicely, even after five steepings. For the price, I have to give this scented tea a good rating.

This is by far my favorite green tea, other than Seven Cups’ Shi Feng Long Jing, which is a bit out of my price range to have on a daily basis. Da Fo Long Jing has evenly shaped dry tea leaves, indicating the masterful processing that it went through. The wet leaves reveal very few broken leaves with a picking standard of one bud to two young tender leaves. I have let the first steeping sit for as long as ten minutes, and it did not even get bitter! I could drink this tea straight out of the glass with the leaves steeping right in there and not have a problem. The flavor is intensely nutty and sweet, and the leaves yield at least five good steepings. This tea is truly the work of a master

I have recently tried the 2011 crop of this tea, and it is simply amazing. I have never tried a better rock wulong. The first steeping at boiling for thirty seconds yields a dark auburn brew that simply GLOWS. The aroma is reminiscent of dark chocolate and roasted hazelnuts or almonds. The flavor of the first steeping was very strong, almost bitter, but that is to be expected from a truly good rock oolong that has gone through several stages of roasting to get its unique flavor. The fourth steeping was the best, giving me the best balance between the roasty and fruity notes.

Oh my goodness. At this price, I never would have thought that this tea would be as good at is it really is. The brew never goes bitter, a true testament to its quality. It lasts for at least five steepings of full flavor. Yet another testament. It does not have the delicate nuances of the finer green teas. But that cannot be expected from an everyday green tea. Bravo, Seven Cups for finding and promoting this wonderful, cheap tea!

dry leaf aroma is pleasant, alot like a dan cong oolong. first infusion aroma is strong roasted on the front end and slight hints of choclate and also floral on the backend..

first few infusions have a honey like aroma , slight buttery texture, smooth slightly sweet taste with a note of mineral " rock" like taste. refreshing clean feeling mouthfeel.
this tea experience reminds me of a high mountain stream.. water rushed over moss covered rocks with a hint of sweetness if that makes any sense : ).

later infusions-
mineral rocky taste mellows out and it becomes more of a clean watery, slightly floral taste..

all in all a unique and refreshing tea!

I know it’s poor form to have one’s initial taste of a pricey, long-awaited leaf alongside a bowl of smelly, peppery tuna salad, but the steaming cup imparted a glorious incense to my fishy repast. It was alchemical bliss to the palate, and besides, I was hungry.

The only other bohea I’ve experienced was about a year ago, from Teas Etc. This marvel, I think, surpasses that. The dry tea consists of tiny, even-sized black twists. Be careful with the leaf amount. It is denser than you might think. I used a scant 1.5 tsp in a 12oz mug to get two steeps. If you have the right mug, the large size teeli/bodum mesh-and-plastic steeping basket will reach all the way from the bottom to the top edge, giving the leaf lots of room to boogie … and good leaves deserve this.

The liquor possesses more flavor than is announced by its pale amber hue. The smoke merely accents its depth and complexity. It has an herbal freshness like lightly roasted roots rather than a green flush. While lapsang souchong can shove some extremely distracting smoke up your nose, this bohea wraps its toasty wood mist gently around the notes of the excellent tea. No wonder the bohea is more costly.

Afterward, I put the wet leaf on a little white porcelain saucer and dripped water on it until it was suspended in liquid. This is the best way I’ve found for getting a really good look at steeped leaf. Lo and behold, this leaf has been chopped or broken into quite evenly-sized bits. Was this machine-harvested or was it broken during finishing? I cannot tell. In any case, the fineness of this bohea does not depend on preserving the whole leaf. Rather, it is the quality of growth, the selectiveness of picking, and the skill of processing which makes such a good thing.

4 min, 6min at 205F.

[note – this is based on the 2011 light roast imperial rou gui]

I have had mixed results with 7 Cups’s teas, and wasn’t hugely impressed with some of their yancha that I’ve tried. However, I think this one is really nice. The roast is balanced (not too high, not too low), clarity of the brewed tea is good, the tea has sufficient oxidation, and the characteristic rou gui flavor is there. The aroma in the empty cup smells just right. If you push it to the point where it’s a bit astringent, more of the aftertaste will come out. I think it’s a fairly good value.

Pours a yellow green and has a grassy mint aroma to it. It tastes like it smells. It’s crisp yet mellow and offers a moist grassy taste with subtle mint flavor that becomes apparent as the tea cools. I found some nuttiness in early infusions. Mouth feel is just okay. Very serviceable for everyday drinking, and for what it is it’s quiet good. Steeps quick and is good for several infusions.

Brews bright green and produces a straightforward, uncomplicated, strong grassy flavor. Very mild sweetness with multiple infusions. Mouth feel is full/well rounded. Its easy to over do it with this one (in both steep time and consumption), but at $6.50 for 50g (1.75oz) it’s worth a look. It’ll last you

I’m not very experienced with reviewing teas, but I’ll give it a go.

Over all, this tea is a perfect green tea. It has a very heavy presence, but the astringency stays politely in the background. I tend to let my teas over-brew, but even after 8 or so minutes the tea maintained a perfect flavour. I generally go for black teas and oolongs, but this tea will definitely stay in my cupboard for when I want something with a different flavour profile, but certainly not a lighter taste.

I am drinking it now. First infusion is ok, let’s see what the next brings.The tea is not remarkable in any way, just average. I hoped for better.

Pronounced floral aroma, sweet aftertaste, slight vegetal undernotes.
Good bargain for the price but not outstanding.
(Made gongfu-style).

With the first sip I was thrilled! Exotic, compelling, wonderful!
The price is right too. I am drinking it now. Will write more after the second steep. So far, A+

One of my staple oolongs that I decided to bring to Japan with me. I drank a looot of it!