Shi Feng Longjing #43

This is for the 2022 harvest of Mrs Li’s Shi Feng Longjing #43 (not 1st picking).

Dry leaf smelled kind of fruity, sweet citrus
Warmed dry leaf hit me in the face with toasted almonds and pecans, roasted asparagus, and butter spinach. I love love this aroma, want to wear it around as a perfume lol

1st infusion: (80˚C, 0:15)
Sweet and fresh but a bit light on the flavour, but already starting to get some astringency so I wouldn’t have pushed it harder
Rating: 83

2nd infusion: (82˚C, 0:30)
Stronger umami notes now––I swear I got a noseful of toasted shrimp paste (belacan)! Brothy and flavourful. Mostly savoury, there is still some sweetness that’s more prominent when liquor has cooled, and just a tad astringent.
Rating: 85

3rd infusion: (83˚C, 0:35)
Not as smooth as the others. Almost a strange hint of spice like chili powder? Maybe contamination of my cup
Rating: 79

4th infusion: (84˚C, 0:40)
Smoother than the last. But I think i should have brewed this and the previous one for a shorter period.
Rating: 81

Overall Rating: 82

Dragonwell sample #2 from Verdant.

This is a second flush longjing #43 with a stronger vegetal flavor than the first flush. Leaf appearance is similar but not as aromatic. I detected notes of creamed corn and light vegetable soup in the aroma. When brewed, the leaves produce a liquor that is light golden, almost clear. The taste is vegetal, notes of asparagus and cabbage. I also get a little matcha type chalkiness here and there. The mouthfeel is thick, smooth, and clean. It’s got a stronger toasty flavor as compared to the first flush with a touch of astringency.

This one worked better grandpa steeped than gongfu. It’s a decent dragon well but nothing to write home about.

Back to working on getting through my spring green tea.

Up today we have Verdant tea Longjing #43 , this one is interesting because im getting slightly different flavor profiles to what I got in the dragonfell tea. This one is sweetier, more floral and fruity, but it doesnt have the nutty aroma or flavor that the dragonwell does.

Its even sweeter and less bitter than the dragon well, Im going to have to test this again as I did it in 175 water instead of the 185 , I usually use for Dragonwell, but being the first time Im brewing I played it a little safe.

Brewing for 30 seconds at 175 in 150ml of water. I got a very clear pale liquor that is surprisingly sweet, there is a teeeeenny tiny bit of dryness on it, but its almost not there, I think even a few months ago, I might not have picked it up even.

I recommend this tea, but I dont quite like it as much as their dragonwell tea, which knocked me out of my seat.m