Huiming

I bought this in 2016 in a vain attempt to make myself drink more green tea. The funny thing is that even after almost ignoring it for two years in my cupboard, this is pretty enjoyable. I steeped 4 g of tea in a 120 ml teapot at 185F for 20, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 240 seconds.

The first two steeps are mild, with notes of flowers and buttered greens. The third steep adds some peach skin, asparagus, and a slightly bitter aftertaste to the profile for a much more interesting cup. The next 45-second steep brings the tea into sencha territory, with asparagus, lettuce, broccoli, and astringent flavours and much less fruit and florals. The tea fades gradually after this, becoming grassy and vegetal.

This was a refreshing tea, especially the first few steeps. Longer steeps tend to bring out the veggies, so I might try keeping them shorter during my next attempt.

This is a queued tasting note.

- Gong Fu session in one of my smaller Gaiwans
- Eyeballed the measurments; approx. 2/3 of the cup
- Starts off very fresh and light tasting
- Not sure if it’s cause I’ve been drinking more Japanese greens lately…
- But this seems especially smoky to me
- Also, floral for the first two or so infusions
- As well as nutty, with a nice buttery vegetal note
- Very clean taste/profile overall
- Description teases “bitterness”
- But that wasn’t experienced until the last few infusions
- About six infusions, then it just began to feel brewed out

I bought this tea because I was looking for a light Chinese green. Something smooth, not fruity and definitely not bitter. When I brought it home, I read the online description and immediately regretted choosing it, because of the bitter aftertaste that they described.
I steeped the tea as they recommended and poured one cup after 3.5 minutes and then one at 4.5 minutes.
The first cup (3.5 mins) starts off very subtle almost sweet, but when you swallow you are left with a delightful vegetable after taste. It’s a perfect green tea for mid afternoon.
The second cup (4.5 mins) was slightly stronger, but still smooth. A slight more present after-taste that I would maybe try to eliminate next time.

Verdict: Delicious, worth trying at different strengths, but I would go for less than 4 minutes next time.