Imperial Grade Pure Bud Bi Luo Chun Green Tea * Spring 2017

Here is another green tea sipdown. I think I am now down to only four Yunnan Sourcing green teas from spring of last year. So far, there has not been a bad tea in the bunch; each has offered a unique and memorable drinking experience. This one was particularly noteworthy for its thick body and heavy vegetal character.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a brief rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea buds in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea buds emitted aromas of hay, malt, corn husk, and smoke. After the rinse, I found new aromas of grilled corn and straw. The first infusion brought out a touch of pine on the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of hay, malt, straw, corn husk, and grilled corn chased by touches of sugarcane and cream on the swallow. Subsequent infusions saw the nose turn increasingly savory and vegetal. Pine and smoke notes belatedly emerged in the mouth alongside new impressions of minerals, butter, cedar, grass, asparagus, bamboo, squash, lettuce, lemon zest, and carrot. There were also some subtle green bean and pea notes here and there as well as a thick, heavy, meaty umami presence. The final infusions offered notes of minerals, butter, hay, bamboo, and grilled corn along with a strong umami presence and delicate undertones of sugarcane, carrot, and malt.

This was a very nice green tea. It was also a very filling and overwhelmingly savory, vegetal tea. I tend to like extremely vegetal and/or savory green teas, but this one was almost a little much for me at times. Fans of such teas, however, will likely get a huge kick out of it. If you are the sort of person who loves heavier teas, look into acquiring some of this or perhaps check out the spring 2018 production.

Not my cup of tea. This is quite a bland flavour and like the previous reviewer says, if you are looking for fruity sweetness (which I love), this isn’t the tea for you.

Often I can make good use of green teas I find poor or in this case bland by using them with cold water. Unfortunately the leaves don’t all sink like they do with some and the taste is nothing special when cold brewed.

Snails! Its snails all the way down with this one. Not obsequious, this is a refined and moderate brew. If you’re looking for flowery sweetness, pass this one up. If you like roasty with slightly astringent after taste, give it a try.