Yunnan Graceful Purple 'Zi Juan' Purple Varietal Green Tea

I really don’t like this tea. I still have a cup left (so it’s going into the tea box before I ship it out tomorrow). It isn’t the worst tea ever, but it tastes a lot like a young sheng. It has that same aged/fermented flavour, some bitterness, slight sweetness. Some flavours of leaf pile (in a good way) and sweet potato. It is clearly a green tea, the vegetal notes are very present.

I have really been impressed with What-Cha teas because all of their teas are perfectly intact-there are no broken, mishapen, or dusty pieces in the bags-just perfect tea leaves.
These dry leaves are really pretty, long purple needle shapes.
If you like young sheng, this is one for you to try!
Crazy scent to the leaves after I rinsed them in my gaiwan a couple of times. Really smells like a young, very stern sheng. Very petrol scented with a little bit of edamame to it. Liquor also smells very petrol. (I used green wood in the flavors section, as Steepster doesn’t include petrol in it’s choices) (I didn’t bother trying to add petrol to the Steepster choices :)
Wet leaves reveal themselves to be long, gorgeous green super buds.
Flavor is definitely like young sheng but it is very smooth and not bitter or astringent, just hard core petrol flavor. It has a thick and creamy mouth feel as well. Later as I am done drinking it, I feel it coating my chest area so it does have a biting and a bit of a burning effect so could be a good one to drink if you want to open your chest area for deep breathing.
This is not my favorite tea from What-Cha but I love that I was able to purchase 10g of it to try without the risk of buying a huge amount and not enjoying it. So I really like that about What-Cha as a company.

Backlog:

I think that this is the first tea from What-Cha that I’m writing about here on Steepster, but I’ve reviewed quite a few of them over at SororiTea Sisters and this tea company has become one of my newest favorite tea companies. They are AWESOME! Like totally awesome awesomeness!

And this is a lovely green tea from the purple varietal. A smooth and silky texture, mild smokiness to the flavor and a sweet undertone. Notes of fruit (melon and plum?) hints of vegetation, and a buttery note.

The second steep is even better than the first.

A really lovely tea experience, read more about my experience with this tea here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/08/18/yunnan-graceful-zi-juan-purple-varietal-green-tea-from-what-cha-tea/

I’ve had a few purple teas from Kenya before, but all that I have had before were closer to black teas then greens let alone a purple tea from Yunnan, so What-cha’s Graceful Purple Zi Juan really interested me. Because of my little mix-up yesterday I did not have a gongfu session with this tea, but I may return to it at a later date.

This is a wonderfully smoky green tea, the dry leaves smell like beef jerky and dry gourd. The leaves are very dark for a green tea, but even with the pungent smoky smell, I could smell it was a green tea. The dry leaves remind me a little of a long jing crossed with a very tippy white tea.

For my first infusion I brewed at 176°F for two minutes. Instantly I was greeted with a very smooth texture. It had moderate (if it was a black tea, I have never had a smoky green tea before), but it also had a tangy grape taste as well. It had a mild smoky aroma, also a little vegetal.

My next infusion I brewed at 185°F for three minutes. This time it had a very silky creamy texture. While it was still smoky, I was starting to taste very mild floral notes, there was also some fruity notes and a little earthiness at the end.

Overall I found this tea to be really nice; I enjoyed the lingering smoky taste while the initial smell may stop a veteran green tea drinker, if you take the plunge and brew it I am sure you’ll love it. It almost reminds me of an oolong/Hei-cha hybrid, but in the back of my mind I could always see how it is a green tea.

(Originally post on http://rah-tea.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-chas-yunnan-graceful-purple-zi.html)

My sweetie made a pot of this today, but I really wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t really put my finger on any of the notes in the tea, aside from there being a bit of a bitter undertone and it tasting really different from other green teas.

This is a cool tea, but looking at my previous note, I see that I observed that it’s not an easy sipping tea, and I’ll concur with my previous conclusion. I think next time, gong fu and a small quantity.

I need a new shelf. My tea area is becoming slightly cluttered with tea gear, and thanks to some ebay credit scoring me three new teapots, I am about to totally run out of room. So I need a new shelf, to go next to my Tea Confessional, which will just hold my Yixing teapots. This other shelf will hold all my gaiwans, cha hais, cups, and other gear. I figure this will give me more room on my tea tray to hold gemstones and miniatures, since I like having them right there with my tea. Of course I have to go to the wood stash in the basement and attempt to build this shelf, so I might end up needing a different solution.

Ah yes, time for another Drow Tea! It is official, from now on all purple teas are Dark Elf teas, really I would prefer to call them Shadow Elf teas, but Drows are more popular, so we will go with that. Presenting What-Cha’s Yunnan Graceful Purple ‘Zi Juan’ Purple Varietal Green Tea! This green tea is from the lovely and very tea prolific region of Yunnan, that part you can get from the name, but what does the Zi Juan part mean? It means Graceful Purple and is the name of the varietal, though I will say that the article I linked you all to is a very interesting (to say the least) translation, but I suggest reading it for more information about the purple varietal in China. So, this tea cracks me up, because on first examination, it smells like bacon! Ok, not really, but the blend of smokiness, leather, and sauteed mushrooms oddly reminds me of bacon, this tea is all about the savory, toss in some cooked spinach and a camphorous undertone and you have a green tea that has the essence of Yunnan. I am calling it that from now on because most teas from this region have it, though this tea leans more towards the savory side, which I like!

The leaves, once brewed, become super rich and smooth, with notes that are both evocative of a seaside and a forest floor, along with some deliciously sauteed spinach and mushrooms. I really dig the seaweed notes and that finish of loam and camphor, very savory and nose tingly. The liquid, on the other hand, is delicate, with notes of smoke, sauteed mushrooms, and a finish of cooked spinach.

The first steep is very well rounded and smooth, it is very much so a full mouth sensation tea, starting off smooth on the tongue and turning to cooling as it slides down the throat. The taste is savory, there is no sweet to be found, with notes of sauteed mushrooms, very gentle smoke, a touch of seaweed, and finish of spinach. There is no camphor taste, just the cooling sensation, which is always a treat to have.

Now onto the second steep (and fair warning, I am tea sloshed, I met up with a friend and we had all told about 15 steeps of teas, and I had several steeps of a black and a green before that!) The aroma is smoky and loamy, like a forest floor with savory mushrooms, and just a tiny hint of floral. That little floral note is fun, more like the memory of a flower rather than the flower. Holy moly camphor! That is one cooling camphorous tea, I can certainly taste it this time, it is not just a sensation. Couple that with a meaty sauteed mushroom and a very green cooked spinach and you have a yummy tea…that might actually be a spy. I am pretty sure this is a green tea that is trying to infiltrate the world of Sheng Puerhs by pretending to be one.

Third steeping, the aroma is a bit mellow, blending smoky notes and a tiny hint of hay, along with gentle notes of spinach. Still pleasant, though not as robust as previously. This steep has gone back to the well rounded mouth, no more camphor explosion, just a gentle cooling sensation at the finish. The taste is spinach and mushrooms, keeping it savory and just a tiny bit meaty, though there is a very delicate sweetness at the finish. This tea is fascinating, it is like a Sheng Puerh and a particularly savory Mao Jian got together and had a very purple love child, and I am ok with that. I really enjoy green teas that have strong savory notes, I am a bit of an umami fiend, plus purple teas are just so much fun to look at!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/04/what-cha-yunnan-graceful-purple-zi-juan.html

I’m tempted just to copy my blog review over here but I will resist. What-Cha is a new UK company. They have free international shipping on orders over $35, and a flat $6 for lesser orders. That seems to include my friends in Canada!

This tea leaf smells awesome. It is sweet and sour like other Chinese greens with the addition of kind of a bread like aroma and a wonderful breath of smoke (not heavy LS or even Keemun).

The taste is so different I had to contact What-Cha and ask if this is indeed a green or if it is a sheng. Alistair wrote back as quickly as time zones would allow and confirmed it is prepared as a green tea. The interesting thing is the large purple leaves of this particular varietal have been cultivated (my word – maybe not the correct one) for producing pu’erh. So I am sort of on the right track.

What I am tasting is sheng like without any of that bright metallic taste. It is mild and vegetal, earthy, along with a stone fruit note (I am thinking apricot). The smoke briefly appears at the back of the sip and just fits. In later cups I notice it developing spicy and floral notes.

More sheng comparisons to this green tea – My lungs feel cool and fresh like I can breath to my toes. I noticed a peaceful sense of well being while sipping. I also found it produced a quiet stomach rumble leading me to believe this tea is soothing to my system. Your mileage may vary.

I found this tea to be captivatingly different. I am 30 ounces into steeping the same leaf and it appears it is going to go more.