This bag did not want to open. The resealable part give me the middle finger which was unfortunate. I was planning on drinking it quickly an...

What-Cha: Zhejiang Wild Dragon Well 'Long Jing' Green Tea

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This bag did not want to open. The resealable part give me the middle finger which was unfortunate. I was planning on drinking it quickly anyway but sheesh. Had to put the bag in a ziplock since the reseal never actually opened. It certainly means the tea was very safe from the air. This is a long review so the tl;dr is go buy this tea it is fantastic. 10/10. It also smells like pure bliss. You'll get the most out of this tea Grandpa Style.

Dry leaves
I really like the way that this tea smells. It has a very sweet, almost candied scent to it. Cream comes to mind among a few others scents I recognize but can't quite put a finger on. The more I sat on it, it reminded me of the brown sugar coated nuts that a General Store sells around here. Pecans came to mind the most, perhaps almond brittle and sticky sweet rice as well. A very subtle cocoa note is in the aroma as well. That's not something I smell in green tea very often.

From the website:
A wild-growing tea picked from a tea field abandoned over 30 years ago in the high mountains at an altitude in excess of 1300m. The tea has a wonderful aroma and brilliant nutty taste.
I don't know about you but I think that it is pretty cool that it comes from an abandoned field. If you can't tell from my aroma description, it does indeed have a wonderful aroma. I can't wait to try it! The price is very nice ($11.03/50g) so when I do another sample order I will probably purchase 50g of this. It'll make for a very tasty everyday Longjing. The aroma alone is to die for! I could sit here and smell it all day.

As Longjing is best drunk Grandpa style, that is what I did first. 2.5g/355ml, 80C water and topped up at the 2/3rds mark.

I then did western style brewing. 2.5g/235ml, 80C water, 30 seconds first brew +10 seconds for each additional brewing.

With the last 5g I did gong fu style. 5g/120ml, 80C water, 10 seconds first brew +2-5 seconds for each additional brewing.

Grandpa Style

Seriously Brah this tea smells absolutely amazing. Longjing is the Chinese green I have the most experience with and the aroma of this one alone blows me away. $11.03/50g is just whaaaaat!!!! I've had tea of lesser quality for much more, and I've had tea of the same quality for more.

My mind is seriously blown.

While might lighter, the liquor has a very similar aroma. It had more of the classical Longjing greenness scent to it than the dry leaf.

The liquor is incredibly buttery and smooth. There isn't a hint of astringency anywhere in sight. Look out for miles and there wouldn't be a sign. The initial taste reminds me of a mid-grade sencha mingled with a hint of melon. In the aftertaste there is elderberry, melon, and honeysuckle. They are all incredibly subtle but oh so delicious.

There were a whole lot of leaf fuzzies floating around in the liquor which I always like to see.

After I topped up the tea the second time the greenness was much less potent, not that it was terribly strong before. Elderberry, raspberry, and melon danced around my tongue in the aftertaste. The sencha-like greenness hung around as well which was rather nice. It balanced out the aftertaste very nicely. There was still no astringency anywhere and the liquor was a smooth and buttery as when I first poured in the water. As it continued to brew the characteristic greenness began to come back.

I seriously cannot believe this tea. This is better than some Longjing I've had at $1+/g and that is insane! I'm looking at trying Tea Drunk's Longjing once I am almost out of my What-Cha orders and this will be a tea I compare it to because this is outstanding and Tea Drunk's is extremely expensive. If you had given this to me and not told me the price range I would've guessed $1+/g.

After the third top up the liquor smelt a lot like the brown sugar coated nuts I mentioned before. A little more than half of the leaves had fallen to the bottom at this point and there are so many big, beautiful buds to look at. A larger percentage of broken pieces than something you'll pay more money for, but considering this is just as good as some much more expensive Longjing who cares?

The greenness was diluted again but that is a given considering the top up. The aftertaste consisted primarily of honey, cream, and almond brittle. It wasn't overpowering but it was very sweet and enjoyable. It was barely noticeable but I picked up on elderberry and raspberry as well on the sides of my tongue. Even more subtle was the taste of sweet sticky rice, it came to me after not sipping for around a minute.

I let it sit for a little without sipping it to see if it would get bitter. It didn't, though a slight astringency had shown up. It wasn't abrasive or annoying. A new greenness, kind of like Spinach, had shown up a swell.

After topping up a fourth time the greenness died down again and the mild astringency remained. The sweetness in the aftertaste though... so good! Raspberries, melon, jasmine, strawberry, and a teeny hint of elderberry.

I. Can't. Get. Enough. Of. This. Tea. This is so good Grandpa Style I don't even want to make it the other ways now! It ended up lasting for around three hours with very frequent top ups. Simply outstanding!

Western Style

The smell of the brewing leaves is very lovely. It has that candied nuttiness mingled with a greenness that reminds me of a less potent sencha. The liquor for the first brewing came out almost clear as one would expect. It was very pretty all the same. Just like when brewed grandpa style it starts out lightly vegetale like green beans with a sweet honey, jasmine, and cream aftertaste. Very smooth and light on the tongue with a slight astringency. After many sips elderberry and raspberry begin to show up in the aftertaste at the back of your tongue.

I had a reasonable break between my first and second cup because I got distracted by reddit. The aftertaste lingered the whole time and was absolutely lovely. The elderberry, cream, and jasmine were the most prevalent so it's very sweet.

The second cup is equally gentle. The liquor had green beans, sencha, and a hint of nori to it. Nice umami touch to it that didn't come out when I was brewing it grandpa style. The aftertaste was still very sweet. Cream and jasmine hung around the most. A slight astringency had shown up but it wasn't abrasive. Despite this it was very buttery and smooth.

For the third cup I accidentally didn't have the water hot enough. Despite this you could still pick out the vegetale notes and the sweet aftertaste was still present. More astringent than before.

The fourth cup had lost most of its sweetness but was still very vegetale. Sencha, spinach, and asparagus come to mind. The liquor is still very buttery and smooth. In the aftertaste I primarily taste spinach and sencha mingled with a hint of honey. If you wait a few moments before sipping again the honey taste increases.

The fifth cup was this teas last legs and very "meh." While good, I do think that this tea is much better when done grandpa style.

Gong Fu

I really didn't want to make this tea Gong Fu style. I really just wanted to drink the rest grandpa style but alas.

Compared to the other brewing styles, the first cup came out much, much greener tasting. Not terribly strong, but the profile was still evident. Green beans and tulsi were the main greens to come to mind.I also had Ippodo's 2016 Shincha not longer before this tea and it is very, very green (and had upset my stomach) so that may be playing a role here. I also don't typically like greens when brewed gong fu style but hey, gotta try it for the review.

Yeah it wasn't the Shincha, the second and third cups were absolute battery acid. I am so sad I wasted 5g I could've used for grandpa style brewing ;-; the more you know I guess?

Rating

This tea is a 10 and I don't give 10 out often. Seriously, this was absolutely fantastic. And the price, wow!! This tea has an amazing aroma, an aftertaste to die for, it never goes bitter, and it is all around a lovely tea. I know where I'll be buying my Longjing from now. I am still in awe about how fantastic this tea is. 50g of this would last me forever considering I, obviously, try other teas to review them and I only use 2.5g/355ml when brewing Grandpa style.

Leaf samples
If you're interested in buying this tea (and you really should be!) you can purchase it here.


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