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“Mmmmmmmmm so tasty. Used a random amount of leaf (maybe a tbsp?) and used my nose to figure out when I should pour it out, and my nose indicated I should start at 20 seconds, so a 30-second steep...” Read full tasting note
“Time to cleanse my palate, & this is the tea for that! This dragonwell style tea is lighter than Ms. Li’s & other true Dragonwells, but it’s still a worthy cup. The leaf itself is also much...” Read full tasting note
“Short steeps of this “not-Dragonwell” in glass gongfu pot. Coming from leftfield, the smell of the dry leaves and the taste of the first steep remind me of a McDonald’s Apple Pie- which is...” Read full tasting note
“Trying this western style~ This has a really unique fruity sweetness to it, now that I see the description on here it is SO totally banana. Mostly though it is sweet and vegetal, I said green beans...” Read full tasting note
Region: He Family Farm, Laoshan Village, Shandong
Picking Date: Autumn 2011
Processing: Hand picked in high altitude, naturally mist-shaded tea gardens, withered in the shade fanned for several hours before being hand pressed into spears in a wok over low wood-fire.
Flavor Profile: While many Laoshan greens seem earth-bound in their hearty bean-flavor, the gentle processing on this tea gives it an almost sparkling sweetness. There are bursts of brown sugar along with a nutty base that combine in a way that tastes vaguely like bananas foster with toasted almonds. In later steepings the texture is more similar to sticky rice and the sweetness becomes that of butter rum lifesavers or vanilla cream. True to the “Dragonwell” style of this tea, late steepings have mineral notes that remind us of rocks in a fresh well. Intriguingly, we even get a little bit of spearmint flavor in the aftertaste.
Company description not available.
I knew this was still on my desk staring at me for a reason! I had a cup a while back but didn’t have time to give it a proper first review. I remember REALLY liking it – so – I am jumping into this one again! Here we go!
Dry aroma is airy and pleasant. I LOVE the flat spear shaped leaves :)
Once infused it’s a very warm garden type smell…not flowers, per say, but greens! It’s lovely! There is a bit of sweetness and a little nuttiness to it and I think it’s wonderful!
The flavor of this is remarkable. It’s clean and sweet but not too sweet. It’s slightly nutty. I didn’t really pick up on the banana notes until I re-read the description…and as a BANANA HATER I would say it’s more of a Plantain comparison than Banana for me…maybe because it’s just a hint of banana and not an actual flavoring…not sure…but this is a terrific green tea! (AND NO – I know there isn’t actual banana in this tea! I had someone ask me what I meant by that…it’s just a taste on the tongue I could pick up!!) It also has a lovely aftertaste that lingers and almost seems to freshen my breath!
lovely!
My first note in the new format. I like it but I would move the company description above the community comments – but that is a little thing.
This one is archived on Verdant’s site . So this is like reviewing an extinct species. This did not evoke images of dragonwell tea other than the flat leaf appearance. It was slightly bitter but very easy to sip. It reminded me more of Tai Ping Hou Kui. Beyond that comparison, I also thought it was a bit bean like and nutty.
I also noticed it disappeared really fast. There must be a hole in my cup. lol
Experience buying from Verdant Tea http://steepster.com/places/2886-verdant-tea-online-minneapolis-minnesota
Age of leaf: Stated as harvested in autumn 2011; I received the tea in early winter and brewed it up not long after (I also included notes about their spring harvested Dragon Well style tea in this review). I slightly updated this on 6/5/2012.
Appearance and aroma of dry leaf: Looks beautiful! Light and dark green bud sets (or sparrow’s tongues), with some yellow color mixed in here and there. Very mild, but fresh, aroma.
Brewing guidelines About 5 tsp = 5 cups water. Glass Bodum pot used with with leaves floating freely. Stevia added.
……….1st: 175, 1’
……….2nd: 180, 1.5’
……….3rd: 182, 2’
……….4th: 183, 3’
Color and aroma of tea liquor: light amber color; good, fresh aroma.
Flavor of tea liquor Fresh, sweet, chocolate-y, tasty; it has what I think is called a full mouth/full bodied feel. It had great flavor up through and including the forth steeping.
Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: smells fresh and very aromatic; all whole beautiful looking leaves, buds and bud-sets; no broken pieces.
Value: expensive for any tea by my standards: (as of 6/4-2012) it is roughly $10 / OZ when you buy four ounces of it; but it’s worth having some around for special occasions, and great to give as a gift!
Overall: Although, as LiberTeas pointed out in her review of this tea, it is not technically ‘DragonWell’, it is by far the best ‘Dragon Well style’ tea I have ever tasted (it tastes as good as the Laoshan spring harvested DragonWell); and with one or two exceptions, I think it is the best green tea I have ever tasted. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something different about the aroma and the taste of this tea than any other green tea I’ve had. The leaves remained on top of my Bodum for every steeping, which seems to be a good indicator that this is indeed a quality tea. I really like the contrast of the light and dark green colors of the dry leaf; it is clearly one the the highest quality teas I have ever seen. I love the complexity, the sweetness, and the unique flavor of this tea! You go, He family and Verdant tea!
I noticed the leaves on a few of the Teavivre teas also floated through all the steepings. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not – I couldn’t argue with the taste though.
KS: I am not certain if the leaves remaining on top during steeping is an indicator of quality, but for some reason I get the impression it is; that is in part because I have brewed up LOTS of different green teas (at least over 20 different green loose leaf varieties), and it seems that the lower quality stuff sits on the bottom (and most of the teas that start off on top in the initial steepings seem to settle on the bottom on the later steepings). This is actually a good question to put to the community (but I don’t have the time or energy to do it properly just now).
I have also tried some of Teavivre’s teas. They do seem to be good quality for the price. I think I like her White Peony the most, though. And her DragonWell is good too (but not as good as Davids).
It was good to hear from you. Happy New Year !
First of all I’m very happy because today I received some samples from a friend from Athens and I got my parcel from Taiwan with tea so I got like 10+ teas to taste! I started with two green and a red.
120 ml gaiwan, 2 gr tea, 78 C water, about 1 min first steep +45-60 sec for next
Dry leaves aroma: Vegetal, grassy, hint of nuttiness
Color: Light green, amazing clarity
Gaiwan lid aroma after steep: Sweet, vegetal, spicy undertone, hint of lime?
Taste: Sweet, grassy, vegetal, little spicy, mint and maybe lime overtone, mostly vegetal
Body: medium-light, light creamy texture.
Leaves examination after steep: Mainly whole, one leaf one bud, almost no oxidation
Not much stamina, though the amount was little. Taste faded out nicely in consequent brews though a bit fast.
Not even a hint of bitterness/astringency even when brewed at high temps, I love that quality in tea :)
Overall a nice everyday green for people that want quality, without any major flaws which is nice, but hasn’t got anything too special about it.
*Don’t know what the rating will be because of the strange bar but I would say somewhere around 80
This was a light and easy to drink green with mainly mineral notes. The leaves are the highlight with this tea. So beautiful dry and brewed. I love to look at them, flattened raffia-like spring- green colored and light as air leaves!!
Thank u to Terri Harplady for this sample!!!
Flavors: Mineral
