Valley Green Tea

So this tea is totally not to my taste. Is this taste the mineral taste? because it reminds me of that taste you get from blood… metallic. Did not even want to finish the cup :(

I seem to be a magnet for bitter today. I ordered a very reasonably priced sample of this from Shan Valley. When I smelled the dry leaves, it smelled like a typical grassy green tea. Steeping it up, it’s still a typical, grassy green tea. It’s also pretty bitter, though, and I didn’t even steep it for very long (maybe a minute or so?). Perhaps I should have waited for the water to cool down a little more, but even if this tea weren’t bitter, there didn’t seem to be anything all that notable about it. I will fiddle with the rest of the sample for sure, but it looks like I will not restock on this tea.

Golden yellow brew. Smells of vegetables and iron..? Some sort of metallic earthiness to it.

Brewing turned out great! Was unsure how long I should steep this as the samples didn’t come with instructions, but I think I did well considering there was no bitterness. This isn’t like a typical green tea, which I think I like. I’m not the biggest fan of greens because they usually taste very vegetal, but this one is a bit more complex. I pick up hints of metal/copper at the forefront (but not in a bad way), which is followed by an almost sea-weed type flavor mixed with steamed broccoli or fresh green beans. An interesting cup, and I honestly don’t mind the different profile. I may not be dying to keep this in stock, but I will definitely drink the rest of this. For some reason, this seems a bit easier to go down than most green teas I’ve had. I would describe the mouth-feel as rich and smooth.

EDIT: As I sit with the cup a little longer, the metallic notes seem to die down a bit and aren’t as pronounced. Delicious cup; possibly changes my views on green tea!

This and the Shan Valley Mountain Roasted tea are like sisters, with the latter being the older, stronger sister, but whatever, they’ve still got the same genes. I like them both and it really just depends on my mood which I prefer, this (the slightly milder, mellower version) or t’other.

Unlike Shan Valley’s black tea, the leaves of Valley Green are very whole. The dry leaf smells similar to a barn, very much like hay. However after brewing the tea, the leaves smell like a young raw puer, sweet and fruity. It brews a pale gold brown liquor. It has a feint astringency and is feels viscous. The flavor is somewhat fruity and sweet and tastes strongly of hay.

Second steep with same parameters. Man oh man does this smell like a young raw puer to me. This brew is a little more astringent, a little less hay like, a little more sweet, and a mineraly flavor.

Impressions: I was not too keen on the first steep, but the second one I’m enjoying a lot more. I would consider brewing this tea for a shorter period of time but keeping the other parameters the same. If you like green teas that are not grassy, but that have a hay like flavor, this one may be up your alley.

Green tea flavor strong but with a nice balance. Some ocean/marine aroma and taste. Not a particular favorite for me. I seem to tend to like a more flavored green tea so I will probably blend it with a fruity tea. No brewing notes so i just brewed as a regular green tea.

Well this is my first cup of tea with my new Breville!!! So after tasting the difference between the cup of this tea i made this morning is huge! this one has some great color and awesome re-steepablity. Initially, I noticed the grassy flavor that is often easily recognizable in green teas. However, i noticed this green really has that fresh flavor, not overpowering but fresh and crisp. I don’t know if its just me, but i noticed the taste of edamame (soybeans)…and normally that would come off as really strange, but this time it just added to the freshness of the cup. I was pleasantly impressed by this one. As i am normally not a huge fan of greens, the folks at Shan Valley seemed to do a good job with this one:)