I used the tea randomizer that was in the discussions and this came up. I had forgotten about this tiny sample sitting in its original packaging. I opened this up and inhaled the nutty yet fresh greens!
The leaves are the typical dragonwell leaves, which are iron-flat and long, resembling swords. The leaves were a brown with some green. I compared this to the Teavivre leaves, and the Teavivre leaves were fresher looking – they were bright green leaves. The scent of the dry leaves were a little similar to houjicha with the slight roasted scent to it.
I used a kyusu to brew this. The liquor was a light yellow and smelled mild. The taste was good and bold! It was smooth in the beginning, but left me with a slight astringent aftertaste. I love the fresh green almost vegetal flavor, kind of reminds me of faint celery? (though I really hate celery!). There were roasted and nutty notes to this. Good tea overall. Dragonwell makes for a nice everyday green.
