Now that I have reviewed a higher end Huang Shan Mao Feng, it’s time to review a slightly lower end tea (and I do emphasize the word slightly considering that this appeared to still be a somewhat higher end tea). One thing I appreciated about this tea compared to Teavivre’s Nonpareil Te Gong Huang Shan Mao Feng was that it offered a bit more strength in the flavor department. As teas of this type go, this one produced an excellent drinking experience and was about on par with its higher grade counterpart.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After the rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea buds and leaves in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.
Prior to the rinse, the dry bud and leaf mix emitted aromas of minerals, chestnut, honey, and straw. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of hay, malt, soybean, sweet corn, and chestnut blossom. The first infusion then introduced lettuce, grass, and pea aromas. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of chestnut, straw, malt, hay, soybean, sweet corn, and grass that were underscored by hints of butter, cream, and peas. The subsequent infusions introduced cooked green bean, butter, umami, cream, and pine aromas. Mineral, lettuce, honey, and chestnut blossom notes appeared along with umami and cooked green bean impressions. I also caught some fleeting hints of fennel, pine, sugarcane, and spinach. The final few infusions emphasized durable mineral, cream, malt, hay, and umami notes alongside amplified spinach impressions and cooked green bean, chestnut, and pea hints.
A very aromatic and flavorful green tea, this was like the Nonpareil Te Gong Huang Shan Mao Feng but with more charisma. Honestly, drinking this tea was like taking in an early summer day at my residence in liquid form. I have several large Chinese Chestnut trees in my yard as well as a hay field immediately in front of the house, and in June and July, the scents of grass, hay, and chestnut blossom fill the air when the yard and field are being mowed. If I breathe in through my mouth during that time of the year, I frequently also taste those things, and I love that. So, all of that being said, drinking this tea was an extremely pleasant experience for me. Though it was not as fancy as the other Teavivre Huang Shan Mao Feng I previously tried, this was more of a drinker’s tea, full of heady aromatic components and strong flavors with a nice, thick body and the expected mineral-heavy mouthfeel. I think it would make a fantastic daily drinker or a wonderful introduction to Huang Shan Mao Feng for those who are curious.
Flavors: Butter, Chestnut, Cream, Fennel, Floral, Grass, Green Beans, Hay, Honey, Lettuce, Malt, Mineral, Peas, Pine, Soybean, Spinach, Straw, Sugarcane, Sweet, Umami
