Yin Gou Mei Green

Backlog:

I really liked this Yin Gou Mei. It was sweet, nutty, crisp and floral. A nice creamy note as well. The description here says “astringent” as a flavor profile, but I didn’t really get a lot of astringency to it. I just had a really lovely creamy, sweet, nutty, flowery taste that made me swoon.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/07/23/yin-gou-mei-green-tea-from-simple-loose-leaf/

This was a nice green, not a personal favorite of mine, but definitely nice. The leaves are a bit unconventional for a green, taking on an “eyebrow” shape and being such a dark color it almost resembles a mild black tea. It brews a nice golden color and delivers a rich flavor. Refreshing as it hits the tongue with a fruity foretaste and then smoothly transitioning into a mildly bitter and astringent aftertaste that is a telltale sign of any green worth its salt. I enjoyed this green and it would make a wonderful base for a blend.

**Note: i drank this iced because I live in California and it’s summer.

Man, today was a busy day today.

I got up early to go to a small business networking event, and spent about 6 1/2 hours there, talking to people, attending seminars, and so forth. Got up a little after 6, left the house around 8, got there just before 9, didn’t leave until 3:30. Lots of chatting, exchanging business cards, visiting the trade show floor, etc.

The nice thing is that the hotel that hosted the event is one I’ve been to before, and that it connects to a small suburban mall.

The really nice thing? This mall contains a shop that smells gaiwans and other teaware for really good prices. There’s a little old Chinese lady there who will wrap everything up super-tight so that it won’t move around, and her prices are ridiculously low. Remember how back in April, I was so proud of this little pink gaiwan that I bought, and that I immediately chipped the lid for it once I got home? That was where I bought the gaiwan – for only $10, about half of what I’ve seen it advertised for online.

Knowing that the shop was there, I went and asked her if I could buy just a replacement lid, but she said no (unfortunately, though I do understand since everything breaks easily).

However, I did get these two absolutely adorable little blue and white cups. Here’s a photo!

http://christinavasilevski.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/blue_tea_cups-e1407625247992.jpg

Once I came home I figured I would have this tea to relax, since I liked it so much when I first tried it last week.

However, I think I might have overleafed it, as it seems more astringent and vegetal than I remember, without that stonefruit taste that I loved so much the first time around.

By the way, those cups? Remember that little teaware store I mentioned? I got both of those for a whole dollar. Pretty good deal for a loonie, I think.

The leaves are pretty and delicate. The dry leaf aroma is sweet and beany, and the color of the leaf is a muted slightly blueish green. Meanwhile, the wet leaf aroma is more vegetable and bitter, like a Japanese green, and the color of the leaf has become asparagus green, making these little eyebrows look like fresh vegetables, a little alive. Each infusion (1, 2, 3) yields a creamy and full-bodied liquor with notes of sweet uncooked beans. These notes don’t last long unfortunately – they turn somewhat flat after I let the liquor stay in my mouth for more than five or so seconds. But, with the finish, the transformation gets better. It tastes like cooked string beans and is a little astringent. Not a complex tea, but still enjoyable, especially on a mild summer day like today.

Eyebrow tea! This Chinese green tea is sometimes referred to as eyebrow tea because of its delicate curls, I have even seen this tea’s name translated to ‘silver fishhook eyebrow tea’ which sounds even more awesome. The aroma of these silvery curled leaves is fairly faint, but the notes I can detect with my sniffing are a touch of kelp, a hint of spinach, and a pinch of kale. The aroma is more vegetal and savory than sweet. After a nice little bath the aroma of the leaves is much stronger and still quite vegetal. The notes are kale, spinach, artichoke, and a hint of lemon at the finish.

The aroma of the first steep is pretty mild, a hint of citrus, vegetal, and a tiny bit of honey at the finish. The taste is quite mild as well, there is an interesting dryness to the mouthfeel, but there is not bitterness at all. In fact I would say it is quite smooth and refreshing with its notes of mild vegetal and hint of citrus.

Fir the second steep we get to really see what this green tea is about, and no surprise, it is about being green! The aroma is strongly vegetal, with strong notes of spinach and kale. The taste is buttery, like buttery cooked vegetables with a twist of citrus at the finish. There are also notes of spinach and asparagus, it is practically a vegetal party in my mouth. This is not the most complex green I have ever had, but it is certainly refreshing.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/07/simple-loose-leaf-july-subscription-box_16.html

Overall the flavor of this green tea is mild with a slight astringency and slightly vegetal flavor. This is the sort of uncomplicated green tea that I like to seek out for everyday drinking because I don’t feel the need to dissect what different flavors I taste, I can simply sit back and enjoy it. While it isn’t what I prefer for the hot days of summer it will be something I can enjoy the rest of the year.

You can read the rest of the review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/7/15/tuesday-tea-july-selection-club-simple-loose-leaf.html

The final tea from my Simple Loose Leaf July box. Honestly I had no idea what to expect out of this one since I have little to no experience with Chinese green teas. The leaves are cute, they’re quite thin and they look rolled, then shaped into little “U” shapes and hoops. The color is on the grey side of green. They smell a bit musty and vegetal, and there’s a tart fruity scent that reminds me of dried cranberries. I steeped for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

The brewed tea smells vegetal and a bit grassy with a hay note. The flavor is quite mild, which seems to be a common factor in Chinese green teas. It’s a bit grassy and reminds me of a lighter version of sencha. I also detect a hint of floral and there’s a fruity element mid-sip. It’s quite astringent for a green tea. As I let it cool, I started to get more sweetness and a white-tea-like hay note.

Overall, I’m glad I got to experience a new-to-me tea, but this isn’t really something that I would enjoy drinking on a regular basis. It’s a bit too light for me.