Nine Glorious Mountains

Have been experimenting with longer steeps on this one, and the flavor has deepened and become more interesting. Still pretty easy to drink and not especially exciting, but pleasant.

I agree that this tea does not match the description from TeaSource. I wonder if this could be a newer batch and they didn’t update they’re tasting notes. For this tasting I brewed the tea using a gongfu style. I used 6g of leaves and 120ml of 165 degree water. Steeping times increased from 30 to 120 seconds over 5 steeps. The first showed corn, grass and butter on the nose and palate. The second and third were similar with the addition of a burnt rubber component all the way through. By the fourth steep the burnt rubber is quite prominent and there is a substantial astringency and bitterness. I shouldn’t have even bothered with the fifth. Every cup had the same basic pale straw color and cloudiness. The first three steeps were quite nice but I think using more tea leaves and/or keeping the steeping time low throughout would allow this tea to be stretched a little further.

I’d agree with the description of TeaSource’s site that it’s “sweet, smooth” although I don’t detect the citrusy or spicy note. In fact, my major complaint with the green teas I ordered this time (their House Green and Double Yunnan Needle as well as this one) is that they don’t seem to me to have much personality. In that sense any of the three might make good introductions to green tea—they’re not too grassy, they’re drinkable, and they’re … inoffensive. But none impressed or would have me ordering them again. I like this one slightly more than the other two, but not as much as several other green teas I’ve tried from TeaSource.