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“I’m drowning in tea and must take immediate measures to STOP BUYING MORE. My new plan has as a requirement that I drink up twice as much tea as I replace. This requirement applies to full sized...” Read full tasting note
“For reference, I rated this a 16 because it tasted really really soapy and weird to me. But no one else had a similar rating and my sister thought it tasted fine and great, so I’m not going to skew...” Read full tasting note
“I received this as a free sample with my last Adagio order. It was originally supposed to be Green Anji, but that was sold out. (In fact, it still is.) I’ve been putting off reviewing it because...” Read full tasting note
“Thanks goes out to tattooed_tea for this sample! In all honesty I usually gloss over the non-flavored teas for the most part, especially greens. Maybe it’s because of the vegetal-ness I get from...” Read full tasting note
Green tea from the Fujian province of China. In professional tea terms, ‘Pekoe’ is actually just a grade of tea, referring to the size of the leaf. Many tea drinkers have seen this term on packages of everyday black teas (most famously, ‘Orange Pekoe’). Our Green Pekoe is a lovely everyday green tea: delicate pale yellow liquor, soft texture and pleasant aroma like freshly roasted artichokes or okra. Slightly toasty and very balanced, mellow astringency.
Ingredients: Green Pekoe green tea
Steeping Instructions: Steep at 180° for 2-3 minutes.
Company description not available.
I fully admit that I may have over-brewed this tea a bit, which explains why I find it so bitter, but it should not be as bitter as I’m getting because I didn’t over-brew it by THAT much. I find it smoky and bitter, and those two flavors just overwhelm my palate. So…. Not my favorite. I prefer gunpowder for a everyday green tea.
I have yet to be happy with this one. Adagio’s recommended quantity and temperature yielded astringent water. Tripling the leaves to a tablespoon yields a stronger (but still subtle) beverage, but it quickly turns the corner to harsh bitterness.
Success lies somewhere near the two teaspoon mark. Problem is, at that point it’s butting heads price-wise with much more interesting teas. It also doesn’t seem to be usable at any quantity for more than two steeps (and even two’s pushing it if you’re following Adagio’s recommendations).
It’s not bad, it’s just not good. Or much of anything else, really. Unremarkable, simple, and straightforward. I don’t mind a delicate tea when it’s rewarding or complex, but Green Pekoe just kind of… exists.
I’m drinking this now, but I got distracted and let the tea steep for 8+ minutes. I added some cold water and the result is surprisingly good. Definitely sweet and slightly smoky, with a bit of dark grass. Not too much vegetal aroma. Perhaps this would change with a more appropriate steep time, but I like this tea nonetheless.
The dry tea leaves are beautiful — I think this accounts for much of why I like Chinese green teas so much. It may not be the best Chinese green but I could certainly drink this on a regular basis, especially since the price is right.
