Mei Hua

Yay, I found a good use for this tea!

On its own, its just too vegetal for me, and I’ve barely touched it since I bought it. It has STRONG artichoke, spinach, and marine flavors. But being a pretty strong green, I decided to make some chai with it, and it turned out quite nice! I used my normal chai ingredients minus the fenugreek and coriander, plus some lime juice, fresh basil, and some dried red chili.

I think this will be my official green for messing around with mixing possibilities, as it stands up fine to other flavors.

Bitter sweet moment for me. The sample was heavenly, a mixture of honey sweet notes and plum. The second time around it was bland and tasteless. I gave it a third try in case the second was a fluke… prepackaging the tea kills it adagio.

This tea reminds me of Chun Mee but without the “dusty” aftertaste, its not wonderful but it has a nice honey/plum aftertaste and its nowhere near as bitter as Chun Mee.

This green tea is really interesting! At first the appearance of these dainty little curls reminded me of Bi Luo Chun, and after steeping it, I can say it continues to remind me of that tea in many ways. The first infusion has a very pleasant flavor with notes of green bean, artichoke, and a mellow sweetness… no bitterness at all here. There’s also hints of fresh mint or clove that actually leave a recurring coolness on the tongue. These become more obvious as the liquor cools down. The leaves themselves smell like green beans. The second steeping is a little less sweet. The third infusion is overall more mellow and more sweet than the second. There’s just a hint of dryness at the end, but only by the third infusion.

This tea seems to have a lot of lower reviews than I expected. Make sure when you brew this tea you don’t exceed 80C/176F water temperature or it will become bitter. As for amount and time, I used 2 grames per 100ml in a gaiwan and brewed for 1 minute, adding 15 seconds to each additional infusion. Brewing with the lid off will really help keep this delicate tea from overheating and tasting poor. Really, you probably shouldn’t exceed 1 minute regardless of whether you are brewing this gongfu style or western style. This tea has a lot to offer in a light infusion.

Terrible.

I’m saving the below since my first note stated 1min, and that probably had a lot to do with it. I actually do like this. Definitely vegetal as I mentioned, a bit grassy, but not bitter or death-like when brewed with a lower temp and shorter amount of time. Very touchy, though.
—-earlier note below (was 190F instead of 175F, 1min instead of 30sec; temps are estimates anyway)
First steeping: Smelled a bit like death and flowers to me in the bag but once brewed it was definitely floral. Taste: Slightly bitter. Very vegetal, a bit grassy. Smoother with a fuller feel. Bitter finish, moderately astringent. My water was likely still too hot, if that helps. This is definitely a green in the green sense. My rating reflects the fact I’m not a fan of most greens.