Lung Ching Classic

I bought this tea recently to break my previously formed impression of all LongJing tea (I had had a particularly unpleasant experience with it from a different supplier – the reason presumably was that it had not been stored well at all.

This LongJing from T2 was much more pleasant.

The first tea session’s brew was a little weak (I had only put in 1 1/2 teaspoons for the 600ml pot) and had left it to steep for about 1min 20sec.
The second session I put in a full 2 (Chinese) teaspoons and brewed for ~1.5 minutes.
Although the overall outcome was better, I will try it again brewing to 2 minutes.

Both brews were with water that had been taken off the element as soon as bubbles began breaking the surface (would that be ~75ish degrees Celsius?).

It had a nice rounded mouth-feel that lingered pleasantly. I was impressed with how the tea blended with the water: It was like the two had completely become one (as opposed to other brews I have had that have been quite insipid or unbalanced).

The flavour I could only describe as a nutty grassy taste, perhaps with a bit of a mildly roasted sensation. I’m sure if I had eaten more vegetables and smelt more flowers in my lifetime I would have a better lexicon for this (future goal?). In summary, very nice flavour.

I couldn’t get much from the aroma. There were hints of the lightly roasted nutty flavours I had experienced in the drinking, but only from the pot. When trying to make out the fragrance of the tea in my (tiny Chinese gongfu) cup, I often found myself accidentally dunking my nose in the tea due to lack of fragrance.

Perhaps it can be said of this tea that the fragrance is mild yet compelling?

I was very happy with this tea. Thank you T2 for restoring my faith in the Dragons of the Well.

Sampler Sipdown September! Getting closer to finishing off my T2 samplers… and I think this is at least the last Chinese green from the green tea sampler pack. I’m not expecting their Dragonwell to be anything like the one I had from Dazzle Deer, but compared to the last few green teas I’ve had this week, this has got to be an improvement! Right now, I’m just craving a decent cup of green tea, really.

The dry leaf smells like dry grass, pepper, and smoke. The yellow brew smells like vegetables sauteed in a bit of pepper. Lord, yes. The flavor doesn’t have as much depth as the version I remember trying from Dazzle Deer, but it is still really nice, especially compared to all those mediocre cups of green tea. I’m getting a very smooth tea without any astringency, with a mild grassiness and strong beany vegetal taste, a buttery body, and this delightful peppery finish. Solid.

Fairly sure this is what I wolfed down 3 sample cuppies of at the T2 shop in Shoreditch; why I didn’t buy it, I can only guess I was being good knowing we’ve just moved house and resolutely do NOT need more stuff to store. Still, a good lung ching! I’d buy it when I’ve got a green gap next in my tea cupboard. No idea under what parameters it was brewed, but it was nice and sweet, low in astringency, with a touch of nuttiness and top notes of a lightly floral fruit. Yeah, this was lovely!