I bought this tea recently to break my previously formed impression of all LongJing tea (I had had a particularly unpleasant experience with it from a different supplier – the reason presumably was that it had not been stored well at all.
This LongJing from T2 was much more pleasant.
The first tea session’s brew was a little weak (I had only put in 1 1/2 teaspoons for the 600ml pot) and had left it to steep for about 1min 20sec.
The second session I put in a full 2 (Chinese) teaspoons and brewed for ~1.5 minutes.
Although the overall outcome was better, I will try it again brewing to 2 minutes.
Both brews were with water that had been taken off the element as soon as bubbles began breaking the surface (would that be ~75ish degrees Celsius?).
It had a nice rounded mouth-feel that lingered pleasantly. I was impressed with how the tea blended with the water: It was like the two had completely become one (as opposed to other brews I have had that have been quite insipid or unbalanced).
The flavour I could only describe as a nutty grassy taste, perhaps with a bit of a mildly roasted sensation. I’m sure if I had eaten more vegetables and smelt more flowers in my lifetime I would have a better lexicon for this (future goal?). In summary, very nice flavour.
I couldn’t get much from the aroma. There were hints of the lightly roasted nutty flavours I had experienced in the drinking, but only from the pot. When trying to make out the fragrance of the tea in my (tiny Chinese gongfu) cup, I often found myself accidentally dunking my nose in the tea due to lack of fragrance.
Perhaps it can be said of this tea that the fragrance is mild yet compelling?
I was very happy with this tea. Thank you T2 for restoring my faith in the Dragons of the Well.
