Nepal 1st Flush 2014 Emerald Green Tea

I was really hesitant when I first brewed this tea. The liquor was very, very pale. But when I first caught a whiff of the aroma, I was excited by the smell of nectarines (my favorite fruit), which I had never experienced so vividly in a tea before. This is also one of those finicky teas which start to oxidize immediately upon brewing. The color was turning brown within just a few minutes. I decided to put the leaves back into the teapot after pouring my first two cups to see if I could get more flavor from this. I like this, but I don’t love it like I was expecting to. It has great qualities – so full of fruit flavor with just a hint of floral, cream, and vegetal notes. But it’s also kind of on the weak side, and doesn’t have the kind of sweet, long-lingering finish that makes me fall in love with a tea like this.

an amazing tea!

when i smell the leaves dry, they smell like grass and veggies.

when i smell the leaves wet, they smell floral and like veggies.

when i look at the brewed tea, it looks light and yellow.

when i smell the brewed tea, i smell apricot, sweet and floral.

when i taste the brewed tea, i taste apricot, sweetness, floral and veggies.

i rate this tea a 100 because i like the taste/aroma

many thanks to amanda’soggyenderman’wilson for this lovely tea!

With so many What-cha tasting notes popping up on my dashboard, I’ve been feeling inspired to gt through more of my untrieds from my last order.

I haven’t often felt in the mood for a green tea lately, but my water temperature was pretty much just right when I went to make a cup, and this was at the top of my bin. I’m glad it was.

The steeping directions recommend 1-2tsp, but the leaf is very fluffy and hard to measure with a spoon, so I pulled 2.2g out of the bag, which worked out to a bit over a teaspoon if the leaves were made to fit into the spoon. Steeped in 80C water for 3 minutes.

This is a delicious green tea, with notes of honey, corn, umami, peas, and lots of sweetness. Good medium body and smooth mouthfeel. The soup was rather rich at 3 minutes and might have been getting into bitter or astringent territory with any more time.

Delicious. That cup disappeared rather quickly.

Sometimes I sip a tea and just think, “yep, that tastes like tea”. :) Maybe I’m just not in the mood to analyse flavours? So this is a nice green tea. Aroma is vegetal with a hint of floral. Taste is vegetal with a hint of mineral sharpness. Maybe I need to try some of these nepali greens and whites head to head in order to appreciate the differences?

The last of my What-Cha samples for a first time review. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being introduced to new teas I never knew existed. You know, like green tea from Nepal. This one has a scent of dry autumn leaves until steeped. It then has a steamed vegetal scent with notes of nectarine. This is light and crisp. I get vegetal with a light bite up front that drifts in to spring water before changing to a long lasting grassy floral aftertaste. Uniquely different from the black or white teas I’ve tried from Nepal. This compares well to a Chinese green. Delicate and refreshing.