Until I tried this tea, this was a type of green tea on which I had slept. Hailing from the Emei Shan region of Sichuan Province, Zhu Ye Qing is a Chinese high mountain green tea known for its sweet, nutty, vegetal, and often bamboo-like aromas and flavors. Zhu Ye Qing is also produced elsewhere in China, often in Yunnan Province. This particular Zhu Ye Qing is from Emei Shan in Sichuan Province. Having never tried this type of tea before, I was impressed by the strength of its aromas and flavors as well as its versatility.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 175 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.
Prior to infusion, I noted that the dry tea leaves produced aromas of malt, wood, hay, and bamboo. Aromas of grilled corn and roasted chestnuts emerged after infusion. Mild, subtle flavors of malt, roasted chestnut, wood, grass, hay, and bamboo were present in the mouth. Subsequent infusions brought out aromas and flavors of minerals, grilled lemon, honey, smoke, and straw with hints of hazelnut, leaf lettuce, and seaweed in the background. I also noted the emergence of grilled corn notes on the palate. The later infusions mostly offered impressions of minerals, grass, lettuce, malt, and nuts.
This was a very nice green tea that made for a wonderful introduction to Zhu Ye Qing. At another point in time, I prepared this as an iced tea and it was fantastic. I would definitely recommend this tea to anyone looking for a flavorful, refreshing green tea.
Flavors: Bamboo, Chestnut, Grass, Hay, Hazelnut, Honey, Lemon, Lettuce, Malt, Mineral, Seaweed, Smoke, Straw, Vegetal, Wood
