Spring 2018 harvest.
Jinggu teas, we’ve been all miss and no hit until now. The liquor color is beautiful like other silver needle whites. It’s like women’s ‘champagne’ hair dye in a box. This one isn’t too flat in flavor for me but it is very subtle beyond the more pronounced aromas and flavors of linens, lychee?, nectar, minerals, marshmallow and vanilla. Perhaps hints of green apple candy and sugarcane; there’s something green about this tea but I can’t place it exactly. There’s also a nice lemony tartness to the the thin and soft body to keep things interesting. Later steeps move more along the lines of dandelion and hay. It’s really quite refreshing but not a whole lot to keep me engaged.
Oh, and by the way, have you ever smelled a Cabbage Patch Kid? Back in the 80s they had a distinct smell. That’s the taste of this tea to a tee. The color of hair dye and the taste of the smell of dolls. I may not be doing any favors by describing it thusly but if you know the smell, you’ll know what I mean :)
Thanks, Togo.
Addendum 1: The body of the tea really comes out with western steeping. It’s thick and coating followed by an awesome mineral-induced salivation and tongue tingling after the swallow. This tea has a wonderful cleanliness to it. Recommending it on the basis that it offers something different from other silver needles.
Addendum 2: When allowed to cool completely, the flavor reminds me of violet pastilles: that sweet sugar taste with purple florals and very slight bitterness. I also find it to be a body cooling tea versus the warming quality of other silver needles.
Bumping up the rating to 83+ Interesting tea :)
Flavors: Candy, Dandelion, Green Apple, Hay, Lavender, Lemon, Lychee, Marshmallow, Mineral, Nectar, Powdered Sugar, Sugarcane, Tart, Vanilla, Violet