Classic Laoshan Green Tea from Shandong * Spring 2017

Seaweed, salty, bitter, vegetable, a little sour on the ending. A very pleasant and nice green that kept his full flavour after 2 years of storage.

A very good green tea, not as pungent and delicate as the imperial version, but in terms of the price/quality ratio they are comparable.

The dry leaf smells of chestnut, seaweed with a hint of sweet (maybe vanilla) aroma. Wet leaf has more of a beef broth smell, complemented by some fresh grassiness in the background.

The taste has a mix of brothy, vegetal, mildly bitter and surprisingly also fruity (strawberries) notes. My favourite steep is probably the third, because of the thicker texture, cooling aftertaste and a bit more astringency. Taste-wise, it is not extraordinary, but definitely a pleasant savoury drink with sour and fruity undertones. In fact, this infusion somehow resembles a brighter version of Dong Ding oolong. I know it sounds strange, and maybe I am just imagining it, but that’s what came to my mind now.

While I ordered the black version of this tea, and indeed Yunnan Sourcing marked my bag as such, what I received is this green version. Well, it’s Spring-time I suppose, so OK, why not:

Picked in April, 2017 (likely a few days after my son was born), this might no longer be at the peak of freshness. I’m also using filtered Santa Monica tap water, no scale, and no thermometer – so my results could probably be improved upon – although this tea seems very forgiving.

Infused at 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 seconds. The liquor is a a lemon-lime-like shade of chartreuse. Nutty, vegetal, almost briney aroma with notes of wakame, and hay initially. The flavor follows the nose, adding in some fresh herbs (oregano?) and melon in the finish. More sweetness and less complexity towards the end of the session. Dry but not drying – energizing but not excessively so. Fairly rich and clean overall – hard to over-steep.

I am very quickly getting caught up on my reviews. I should be able to completely clear the backlog within the next three days. This was another of my recent sipdowns, and I have to say that I was sad to see this tea go. It was an impressive and thoroughly likable green tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a flash rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 176 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of honey, toasted rice, and roasted chestnut. After the rinse, I detected emerging aromas of spinach, asparagus, and roasted walnut. The first infusion then brought out something like a combination of soybean and sugarcane on the nose. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of roasted chestnut, roasted walnut, asparagus, spinach, soybean, and toasted rice balanced by more delicate impressions of honey and sugarcane. Subsequent infusions introduced impressions of maple candy, vanilla, lettuce, grass, malt, peas, seaweed, minerals, and roasted barley. The final infusions presented lingering notes of minerals, seaweed, and grass chased by fleeting toasted rice, soybean, and sugarcane impressions.

Though I have seen some tea snobs thumb their noses at the green and black teas coming out of Laoshan, I am a huge fan of them and find them to be some of the most consistently pleasant and accessible teas on the market. This was yet another high quality Laoshan offering, one that would make a fantastic daily drinker or a great introduction to Chinese green teas. As I found this to still be a great tea nearly a year after harvest, I would recommend that those who just have to have a large amount of green tea around for regular consumption make a point of picking this one up if it is still available.

This is a wonderful green tea. It has everything you’re looking for – sweet, floral, vegetal, fruity, savory, nutty… It also responds well to different brewing parameters to pull out the flavors you’re looking for. Really a classic tea at an unbeatable price.

Most notable for me was this tea’s marine notes and fruitiness. It has some saltiness and nori-like umami that added a great dimension to the tea. Also has a really powerful fruity taste both in-mouth and in the aftertaste. It’s like a mix between sencha, green oolong, and Chinese green tea.

Also really good for grandpa style – it stays rich and flavorful for quite a while and does not overbrew to anything harsh or unpleasant.
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Dry leaf – toasted nuttiness, sweet like vanilla/maple confectionery, chocolate, soft sweet herbal, fresh mint and cilantro. In preheated vessel – honey butter, cream, cinnamon, yeast roll notes arrive.

Smell – honey butter, hint of cinnamon, edamame, vanilla/maple, mint

Taste – nori, edamame, marine air, cinnamon, honey butter, yeast roll, hints of chocolate, honeydew melon, mint, coconut, notes of pineapple in aftertaste

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgedQXdBZn0/?taken-by=apefuzz

This tea was a great surprise for me after ordering it. I bought 250g and wish I purchased more. this tea does well in a giwan, but I prefer it grandpa style as it gold onto its thickness and body longer than many other styles of green tea. The flavors are strong, yet smooth with absolutely no bitterness unless you use boiling water( I may have done this once or twice). Anyway, this tea has a wonderful nutty/umami flavor and thickness that makes me want to drink it over and over again.

I’ve had this tea for a few weeks and have been enjoying it but failed to leave a review until now. Of course it’s just as good as last years tea. This is one tea that remains a staple in my tea cupboard. It’s not fussy when brewing. It’s got an in-between caffeine punch for a green tea. Some might think it has quite a bit for a green tea since it’s pretty robust but it still doesn’t have as much punch as a sencha or gyokuro.

Best of all – the taste. Oh the taste of this tea! Buttery, slightly sweet, nutty, spinach, & a good umami. All the things I love in a green tea. It’s a top notch tea I can even brew at work. What the heck, why bother figuring out a rating for this tea? I love it so it’s 100.

Also want to add that this tea is such a good price at Yunnan Sourcing.