No. 8 Mao Feng Shui

Sipdown #3 today is another tea from TastyBrew, thanks!
I don’t really have a lot to say about it, as I was starting 2 new batches for fermented cukes, & jarring up a rip batch. It always takes so much longer to do these things than you think it’s going to!! I’m hoping my Cuke vines will hold out for a few more weeks! If they do, we’ll have enough ‘Bubbies’ style pickles to last for quite awhile!
I sipped on this cup on & off while I was scrubbing cukes, peeling garlic, picking Dill seed heads, & stuffing the first crock. It’s a pleasant green with a vegetal taste, what can I say?

During the prep & stuffing of the 2nd crock I drank the cold brew of yesterday’s Dan Cong leaves (which I’m disappointed to admit was not a sipdown, I still have another little foil package of it).

TTB #21

Another tea sample swiped from the Traveling Box! It came in a nice, individually wrapped pyramid bag.

It’s a holy HOLY asparagus in my mouth… No, no, no. Stop that.

It’s a pretty decent vegetal-tasting green. Now, that’s better.

I do like it. It’s definite, categorical flavor. It’s taking names without necessarily kicking ass. Not sure if I would go out of my way to buy it but I would be extremely happy if anyone served it to me.

This is probably my favorite “non-LiberTEAS” tea in my cupboard right now, if not my favorite, it’s absolutely in the top 2!

It is pure heaven in a tea cup… and a few years ago, if you were to tell me that I would someday say that about an “unflavored” green tea with a vegetative character – I would have told you that you were nuts!

But I sooooo love this tea. Buttery, vegetal, sweet … so good. Multiple infusions to follow!

Gah, I can’t believe some of the negative reviews of this tea but I guess we all have our preferences. I think this is lovely, vegetal but also sweet with a silky like quality, I was thinking vanilla. Sweet and fresh are definitely adjectives that top my list. Oh, how I wish I had picked up some of this with my last S. Smith order (this is only a free sample), I think I need more. I don’t have time to write more but this is so lovely…

This is a soft, creamy green. Its not as smooth and buttery as some other green’s I’ve had but once it cools down, I find that this really is a wonderful cup of tea.

The color is a pale, clean yellow. The smell has a light, roasted quality that’s muted and you almost don’t notice it but its quiet and it sticks. Its like someone whispering in your ear and you get a faint scent of their hair or their smell and it makes their whisper that much softer or sexier.

I see people say vegetal. I don’t get that. Vegetal to me says, “cooked greens”, or “grassy”. I love green tea. Sometimes I crave liquified grass-clippings of a sencha, sometimes cups of neon-green Ureshin Tama Ryokucha. Other times, I just want a clean, easy-going, up-for-whatever cup of green tea that won’t make wonder if I over-steeped it by its asparagus-like, pungent plant power. You’ve had those, I know you have. This is not that tea. I don’t think this tea is vegetal.

This is going to sound weird but this tea reminds me of a beautiful hardwood floor. Its natural, its simple, its elegant and its comforting.

One of my favorites, out of a sachet or otherwise.

Mao Feng Shui‘s bag aroma is highly understated–or should I say, understa-tea-d? Maybe it’s because of the tightly-woven silk sachet, but this tea does not want to give up its secrets so easily. Still, it’s possible to discern the sweetness of the green held up by the more vegetal notes, like an assortment of fruit supported by a summer squash platter. Interestingly enough, it still won’t talk much once steeped in the cup. Huh. There’s a teaser of botanical fragrance, but it’s more of a, “Yeah, I could be a floral. But maybe I’m not. Could go either way. Wouldn’t you like to know?”… Full review: http://snooteablog.com/2013/07/20/snooty-tea-review-steven-smith-tea-round-2/

Excellent cup of green tea! I had this yesterday, so at this point I can’t even pinpoint why I liked it so much, but it’s a green I’d be happy to return to.

I find myself at a crossroads in that I can not review this tea completely.

Upon tasting this very vegeative tea, my mouth & throat decided to swell up. I’ll be adding this tea along with Kukicha from the Tao of Tea to “Don’t Have List.” Then start a search as to why these two teas are causing this to happen and if there is more out there. hmmm….

A sample from LiberTEAS from eons ago, oops. But happy to report that since she used fantastic mylar pouches, it was actually still remarkably tasty despite its age. Some nice beany/vegetal notes, and no astringency.

Not giving it a rating because of age, but it would be in the high 70s based on today’s flavour, and undoubtedly higher in previous years.

Todd shared this tea with my last weekend when I met up with him at Anime Oasis in Boise. I brought the teabags home with me and made a small pot for my breakfast this morning, before meeting with a realtor.

It steeped up a lovely yellow and had a strong bean aroma, reminding me of Bi Luo Chuns I’ve had in the past. The flavor reminds me of Bi Luo Chun as well, in that I’m getting that strong, forward savory bean flavor on my palate that I always get from those. It’s quite vegetal, and I’d say aside from the sharp bean note I taste a leafy green taste closest to aspargus and spinach, with a subtle sweetening toward the end of the sip, a bit like a cross of florals and very wet melon.

It’s a nice green tea, savory, smooth, and lacking astringency, and accompanying my breakfast nicely.