It’s been a brutal summer for my tea drinking habits. I simply don’t drink as much when it’s 95-100+ degrees out here, so I have to wait till night when there’s a slight chilly breeze going on to actually enjoy tea the way I like it. Anyways, when this tea was announced I immediately placed on order (me being a huge fan of TGY) and waited eagerly for my order. I did not try it until tonight simply because of the previous stated reasons. So here it is.
>Dry Leaf Apperance/Aroma
Small tightly curled deep jade green leaves with a very nice gentle aroma. not as aromatic as others.
>Brewing Method
Gong-fu style closely following verdant’s instructions, using a yixing pot dedicated to TGY.
>Liquid Appearance
Bright golden green.
>Taste/Aroma
My first cup had a somewhat muted floral aroma, with a unique fresh “sparkling” mouth feel and a slight gentle sweetness. Not as floral in taste as other TGY’s, but grassier/greener in a good way. The second cup became slightly more aromatic, taste remained mostly the same but crisper. The 3rd and 4th were also very similar. Texture became thicker and smoother with very defined crisp sweetness and clean mouth feel. My favorite steeps were the 5th and 6th, where the tea became thick, velvety smooth, and slightly juicy. The 7th and final steep I made was light in flavor, this TGY was all about mouth feel anyways, with texture remaining mostly the same.
Throughout my session, I never really felt a strong after taste, more of a lingering note. Verdant describes this similar to almond, but to me, that small note left me with an almost mineral sensation, similar to that of a wuyi. Very light and mostly noticeable in late steepings, but still there.
>Wet Leaf Appearance
Mix of broken and unbroken leaves, some stems, varying sizes of leaves.
>Overall
While not as good as its spring/autumn counterparts, this tea was quite interesting. What amazes me the most is how each picking season can create a vastly different experience in taste. Taste wise, this tea was mostly very light and concentrated more on mouth feel, which had a very unique texture compared to other TGY’s. I found it a bit lacking in the aftertaste and couldn’t really taste/feel most of the hints verdant describes about this tea.
