Sun Dried Jingshan Green

This note is for the 2013 offering.

This is my last tea to try from May’s ToTM club offerings. This month has oolongs so that will be interesting. I don’t generally like green or oolong tea, but the last 2 green teas have proven me wrong.

This tea also isn’t terrible, but it isn’t as good as the other 2 I tried (Spring Harvest Laoshan Green and Mrs. Li Shi Feng Dragonwell). This one becomes bitter after sitting in the cup for too long and tastes more like grass. I much prefer a beany green.

Last cup of the evening. I need to slow up the caffeine now but I was still craving some, so I found this green and western steeped it for 2 mins. Beautiful. I missed my greens!! Honey, grassy, apples and a hint of sweet corn. Lovely! See previous notes.

Finally a chance to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea! I feel like I’ve been on my feet most of today. The dry leaves smell amazing — almost fruity, like citrus. The tea when brewing smells grassy and vegetal. Totally different!

I’m enjoying today’s tea with Japanese rice candies — the kind wrapped in rice paper that come with a sticker. My students love the stickers and the candy is addictive — win win! The sweetness also pairs well with green teas.

Oops, I accidentally oversteeped. Just a little bit, though. The tea is a lovely champagne color. It is a little bitter — this may be my “user error” in oversteeping. Sorry, tea!

I don’t think I care for this one, but perhaps I just need to try steeping it for less time. I will try this with the rest of my sample.

I’ve never had a green tea like this before! It really does seem to sparkle in the mouth.
First steep – So bright and clean. A sort of light green flavour. I can’t get over how clear and pristine this is.
2nd – Whoa. This one is stronger and I’m getting an almost citrusy taste. Nice! As it cools it turns more green bean-y.
3rd – I started eating dinner (maple salmon!) here, so I think my taste buds are a little preoccupied (I know, I thought the salmon would take longer to cook!). But this steep was very enjoyable. :)
4th – Okay, done with dinner! Although keep in mind that I did… just eat dinner. But this steep seems more buttery to me.
5th – Super sweet! I’m getting a definite cinnamon-y note.

Mmmm. Sorry this note is so scattered/bad lol. But this tea really is unlike any other green I’ve had. And it changed a lot from steep to steep! Definitely going to have this again, separate from dinner!!
(Also, I see that there is still Golden Fleece available… should I order some?? Hmmmm…)

What’s fun about this tea, like the others I’ve had from Verdant, particularly the Yunnan Gold and Yabao, is that it shares some kind of sweet-earthy character that must come as a result of being grown in Yunnan.

I’ve had this twice now, probably enough left for 1-2 more pots, at most. It came as one of two January teas-of-the-month. The first infusion or two have been slightly weak – I think less because this tea isn’t interesting, and more because I haven’t been completely cold-free since the beginning of the year.

That being said, this tea has a very determined sweetness, that continues to grow with further steeps. I made it to four (western style) steeps, and the last was the sweetest and left strongest aroma aftertaste by far. It was really nice! There was a bit of a tang present throughout, as well.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a bit more out of the first steep or two next time.
Anyway, I think this is an straightforward green tea that anyone would enjoy.

I finally caved and got some tea from Verdant after seeing all the great reviews of the tea and of the company. The package arrived today and I immediately grabbed for this tea, this is the one I’ve been wanting to try for a while now. So, I opened the pack and the tea looks lovely, light green and white twisted, curled leaves with a subtle fresh vegetal scent with floral notes. The wet tea leaves smells like asparagus and the liquor is very light with hints of chestnut. It tastes very good, I get so much out of this one from the asparagus notes, floral notes, corn notes, and sweetness. It reminds me of back home, walking through the farm fields in spring time where mostly corn and soy is grown with lots of forest edges with birds singing and everything is starting to grow back and bloom after a nice rain and the sun is coming back out. Excellent tea, I’m very glad I tried this one.

So this was my sample from Verdant. I was a little surprised by it since I ordered a black, 2 oolongs, and one purer. It was a pleasant surprised though. I opened the bag and it did not have the grassiness that I’m used to from a green which was another plus. I waited till I drank my other purchases before I drank this one. I read the story by David on how he came in contact with the tea and it made me want to drink it tonight.
I drank it the “preferred” way the Jingshan way. I watched the beautiful leaves unfold and began to sip. It was a little strange looking into the glass cup and trying to avoid the leaves while drinking the tea. It started off light and floral then it transformed to more of a vegetal oolong. Loved it! I was afraid of overstepping it since I did not want it to be bitter. It was far from it….nice!
The Jingshan way is the way to go with this tea.

Thank u to Terri Harplady for this beautiful sample!!

The tiny twisted leaves look like beautiful Spanish moss and they unfurl to be so much larger individual light green leaves.
The liquor is a pretty Spanish moss color as well and I don’t detect any dominant essences.

I like this green tea,,it is mild-tasting. I like that it was sun-dried, maybe this is why it is so mild. It does have notes of sweet pea and oat as Verdant suggests in its description.
There is a tiny bit of tannin to it that cleanses your palette. This tea is great with food as it will not fight with your flavors.
Gonna steep again later to see what comes out now that the leaves are unfurled because the Verdant description includes rose water, celery, and sweet grass along with the oat and sweet pea that I detected in the first steeping!

Earthy, light, and very nice green tea!

Tried a third steeping on this and did catch celery but with a third steeping it was very one note with only celery so I’d stick with two next time :)

Loose
Appearance: grey, green color, med curl to leaf
Aroma when Dry: citrus, powdery
After water is first poured: pungent grapefruit, floral,
At end of first steep: bitter, grassy, floral fruity
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clear
Staple? unsure
Time of day preferred: any
Taste:
At first: chewy, floral, slight creaminess, brothy a bit flat
As it cools? notes open, citrus notes lessen layer a bit, tea gets deeper and meatier
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Slightly, hints of grass through a creaminess

Second steep (8 min)
Tea liquor: clear
Aroma: very light citrus vegital
Taste: hints of floral, vegetal notes
As it cools: mellows into a creamy green texture

Sometimes I forget I have this tea… and when I drink it I’m reminded of what I’m missing. This tea… I lose the words. I’ve made it a few times, but it’d been a while and I’d forgotten David’s story of his first meeting. How when he was introduced it was served in a short glass first filled with water. The tea followed, allowing it to “dance,” sinking from the surface. This time, in my haste I prepared it western style in my Finum. I thought as I poured the water directly over the leaves, how disrespectful this approach was. Part of me must’ve remembered that this tea was better served gradually introduced to the water. But still, she was tolerant, though the 30 sec steeping time almost sent her over the edge.

Amber is the color that came to mind at first steep, though milky with tiny hairs, translucent particles suspended in the liquid. Dry, as others have mention, but pointed and sweet. The astringent notes I’ll blame on my brewing technique, as I don’t recall them from previous encounters. Lovely and vegetal, different, though friendly towards Laoshan teas.

A 2nd 20-30 sec steep and I watch as the now wet leaves release into the clear water like heat waves dancing over blistering landscape, a momentary golden swirl become uniform. This time I’ve taken more care, introducing the tea basket into the slightly cooler water. I’m rewarded. I shut up and drink. There are no words for the simple pleasure of enjoying this tea. I’m sure there are… but I just want to get out of my own way and experience it, the hint of smokiness.

That dryness just begs that I not stop drinking and plow through to a 3rd steep. Still true to color, the liquor is now clearer. Lovely still the tea remains fresh and alive. The mouthfeel is clean and light and I’m ready to start slowing down and savor this tea, reveling in the wonderful taste that remains after each swallow.

The wet leaves in the basket, waiting for the next steep? Aroma of cat pee. Not something I’d want to share with my guests. I’ll keep those off to the side if I intend to serve this to friends, thank you. But it’s not about the wet leaves it’s the resulting elixir that I care about.

Steep 4 continues to reward. I notice as I attempt to find the words the tingling all across my palate, the kind of evergreen aura that permeates. Each sip is like watching a lovely sunset recede, becoming increasingly interesting as it slips away. I reboil my water (I know… sacrilege), as it’s probably gotten down to below 150°F. I introduce it to my cup in a long thin poor, and let it sit for a minute to bring it down to temp. I sink the basket in slowly and boom! I can see the tea come back to life. All kinds of citrus aroma. I’m going to have to give this a bit more time to cool. The color is still there, but pale now. This is the tail end I think— Had I taken more care on the 1st steep, I could be lining up for a 5th steep. I think I’ve pulled what I can out of this tea. That astringency though, no mistake. It’s certainly part of the character here.

What a pleasant experience. As I leaned into this tea from the start, impatient and impulsive, it responded by pulling me in and taking me off balance. Tripping over myself in an attempt to grasp what it was offering, I reached out to it again. It uprighted me and led me along, measured and nurturing, yet strict and inciting respect.

A 5th Steep and I’ve come full circle, pouring my water directly over the leaves again. This time I do so gently, coaxing out any more wisdom there is to be offered. I let it sit and extract what it can, longer now, a little over a full minute, maybe even two. Sweet notes, the dry mouthfeel remain as I wait and watch to see if the liquid will yield more color. I lift and dunk the basket a few times and am surprised by how much color remains. And still this tea gives… This late in the game it’s gone ever so slightly bitter. I could have avoided this. Still it reminds me, this tea is not for playing.

A 6th steep, still giving… sweet, lingering, looking back to me as she leaves. And I thought I was just going to have a cup of tea.