92

Spring 2019 harvest

My dragonwell tasting flight continues. I have to say, I’ve never really been into Long Jing until this year. Turns out it wasn’t my tastebuds, but operator error. Having now learned to brew it properly, I’ve started to gain a newfound appreciation for this tea.

I steeped it grandpa style: 1.2g of leaf in 10oz of 180 F water. The aroma of the leaves is sweet and vegetal. The dry leaf smells of spinach, edamame, and chestnut. The brewed tea has the aroma of sweet peas and honey. On the first sip, I tasted warm grass, sugar snap peas, and green beans. Fresh, crisp texture with a thick mouthfeel. Underlying this is mild bitterness that grows ever so slightly as I drink down my cup but doesn’t become overbearing.

Flavors: Chestnut, Garden Peas, Honey, Soybean, Spinach

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 g 9 OZ / 266 ML
Leafhopper

So would you recommend brewing dragonwell grampa style instead of gongfu? I think I might also be making it wrong.

LuckyMe

Well I’m sure there’s a way to properly brew dragonwell gongfu, but I haven’t figured it out yet :-) But yeah, grandpa style seems to be the classic method of brewing it. It’s one of those green teas that needs a steep longer in order to release its flavor

Leafhopper

I’ll have to try that. I’ve always been reluctant to explore grampa steeping because I don’t enjoy really hot tea and I’m worried that by the time I start drinking it, it’ll be bitter. How do you figure out how much leaf to use?

gmathis

Dragonwell is my favorite unflavored green.

LuckyMe

@Leafhopper it took me a while to get the hang of grandpa brewing. The leaf/water ratio and temperature has to just be right to avoid bitterness. I weigh out the leaves and use roughly 0.25g per 2oz of water. Try that as a starting point and see how you like it.

@gmathis I’m partial to sencha but dragonwell is really growing on me

Leafhopper

Thanks! I might just do that with some aging dragonwell I have lying around.

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Comments

Leafhopper

So would you recommend brewing dragonwell grampa style instead of gongfu? I think I might also be making it wrong.

LuckyMe

Well I’m sure there’s a way to properly brew dragonwell gongfu, but I haven’t figured it out yet :-) But yeah, grandpa style seems to be the classic method of brewing it. It’s one of those green teas that needs a steep longer in order to release its flavor

Leafhopper

I’ll have to try that. I’ve always been reluctant to explore grampa steeping because I don’t enjoy really hot tea and I’m worried that by the time I start drinking it, it’ll be bitter. How do you figure out how much leaf to use?

gmathis

Dragonwell is my favorite unflavored green.

LuckyMe

@Leafhopper it took me a while to get the hang of grandpa brewing. The leaf/water ratio and temperature has to just be right to avoid bitterness. I weigh out the leaves and use roughly 0.25g per 2oz of water. Try that as a starting point and see how you like it.

@gmathis I’m partial to sencha but dragonwell is really growing on me

Leafhopper

Thanks! I might just do that with some aging dragonwell I have lying around.

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Profile

Bio

My Rating Criteria:

95 to 100: Top shelf stuff. Loved this tea and highly recommend it

90 to 94: Excellent. Enjoyed this tea and would likely repurchase

80 to 89: Good but not great. I liked it though it may be lacking in some aspects. I’ll finish it but probably won’t buy again

70 to 79: Average at best. Not terrible but wouldn’t willingly drink again

60 to 69: Sub-par. Low quality tea, barely palatable

59 and below: Bleh

Fell into tea many years ago and for a long time my experience was limited to Japanese greens and flavored Teavana teas. My tea epiphany happened when I discovered jade oolongs. That was my gateway drug to the world of high quality tea and teaware.

For the most part, I drink straight tea but do appreciate a good flavored tea on occasion. I love fresh green and floral flavors and as such, green tea and Taiwanese oolongs will always have a place in my cupboard. After avoiding black tea forever, Chinese blacks have started to grow on me. I’m less enthusiastic about puerh though. I also enjoy white tea and tisanes but reach for them less frequently.

Other non-tea interests include: cooking, reading, nature, philosophy, MMA, traveling when I can, and of course putzing around on the interwebs.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/melucky

Location

around Chicago

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