Spring 2020 harvest.
Spring is my favorite season for many reasons. The blooming trees and flowers, the freshness in the air, and everything awakening and coming back to life. Being a green tea fanatic, spring also means the arrival of fresh picked green tea which to me embodies the season more than any other tea.
The first greens of the year arrived from Yunnan Sourcing a couple of weeks ago. Laoshan tea has been my favorite Chinese green tea for a long time but I finally got sick of it and vowed to expand my horizons this year. This is one of the teas I picked up. I had never tried nor heard of Melon Seed green tea but it sounded cool so I bought it and fortunately, it did not disappoint.
The handsome, dark forest green blades have a pleasing aroma of matcha, mochi, and buttered beans. They unfurl beautifully in hot water into wide lime green leaves. I grandpa steeped 1.5g of leaf in 8oz @ 180 F. First sip tasted similar to dragon well and Anji bai cha. Not exactly the same but the flavor is somewhere in between the two. Full bodied, grassy, and vegetal with notes of asparagus, kale, and snap pea. It reminded me of sencha in appearance and taste. Greener liquor than typical Chinese teas and has that strong grassiness and bitterness of Japanese green teas. However, it turns bland once topped off with hot water so it’s not one that can sit in your thermos all day.
Flavors: Asparagus, Bitter, Butter, Grass, Kale, Lima Beans, Spinach
