From a new Verdant order. Major props to Mrs. Li on this beautiful tea! An absolute treat. I’ve never had pre-Qing Ming Longjing before, so I have no similar comparators, but this certainly blows the other Longjing’s I’ve had out the water.
Medium-high sweetness that is beautiful. Mouthfeel is incredibly unique and chalky (in a good way). 1-2 mins of hui gan. Longevity is 4 golden infusions.
Apparently Mrs. Li has been at tea-making for 50 years. She has certainly perfected her craft. The #43 varietal was apparently bred specifically to bud earlier than classic Dragonwell varietals.
I’d say this was worth ~$1/g :).
Harvest: March, 2024
Cultivar: Longjing #43
Location: Longjing village, Zhejiang Province
Elevation: 300 m
Dry leaf: Artichoke.
Wet leaf: Artichoke, nutty.
Flavors: Artichoke, sweet, nutty, honey, chalk.
Flavors: Artichoke, Chalk, Honey, Nutty, Sweet
Ooh, I’m jealous! I’m waiting for some pre-Ming Dragonwell from Seven Cups. I also have pre-Qingming Dragonwell from Teavivre and Treasure Green that I’m waiting to open until the Seven Cups order arrives. I’m going to do an epic green tea comparison tasting—but the wait is driving me bonkers!
Ohh dang I’ve seen the Seven Cups stuff before and now I’m jealous. Maybe I’ll drop the cash on that good stuff some day haha. I’ve never even heard of Treasure Green though. I can’t wait to see how those Longjings compare to each other though!
Treasure Green is a company from Vancouver that offered the three Mingqian teas I was interested in: Longjing, Bi Luo Chun, and Anji Bai Cha. I haven’t heard much about them, but their 2024 Meng Ding Huang Cha, which I also bought, is pretty nice. The other contenders, including Verdant and Tong Xin She, didn’t offer Anji, and Bitterleaf doesn’t appear to be doing Longjing samples at all this year.
Ashman loves Teavivre’s pre-Qingming Dragonwell. We haven’t tried any others and haven’t had dragonwell in a while. I need to paw through my samples.
Ashmanra, I had samples of their pre-Qingming Dragonwell several years ago, so I’m expecting good things. It will be interesting to see how it compares with pricier Longjing.