Tea: Superfine Pre-Ming Dragon Well Long Jing Tea
A Dragon Well (Long Jing) from TeaVivre
This tea has been retired/discontinued.
| Brand: | TeaVivre |
| Style: | Dragon Well (Long Jing) |
| Region: | Zhejiang, China |
| Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
| Loose? | Loose |
| # Ratings: | 1 View All |
Reviewer: Alex Zorach
✓ 1453 teas reviewed
✓ 21 of Dragon Well (Long Jing)
✓ 219 of Green Tea
✓ 52 of TeaVivre
✓ 25 from Zhejiang, China
✓ 382 from China
Review of Superfine Pre-Ming Dragon Well Long Jing Tea
August 20th, 2012
| Aroma | Flavor | Value | Total |
| 9 of 10 | 5 of 5 | 3 of 5 | 87 of 100 |
| Superb | Excellent | Reasonable |
This struck me as a very high-quality tea, quite distinct from any other dragon well / long jing, and unlike anything I have ever tried. A bit more like yellow tea than green tea.
Dry leaf is golden-green, and has a very fine and extremely dusty appearance, and is very powerfully aromatic, with a deeper, toastier aroma than is typical for dragonwell.
Brews a surprisingly dark-colored cup, dark golden-colored, almost brownish.
Aroma very complex, suggesting vanilla, chestnut, and flowers. Grassy tones persist through many infusions. When brewed at lower temperatures, suggestive of gingerbread. Brewing with a higher temperature brings out a strong savory quality and a fair amount of sourness, but brewing as recommended leads to a strongly aromatic cup with a subdued flavor. I'm not sure which way I like better. I'd aim for the recommended brewing temperature, but steep longer than recommended (2-3 minutes), because, in spite of how thin the leaves are, I find they infuse slowly.
Completely different from the organic dragon well by TeaVivre, and not at all what I expected. Seems darker / more oxidized than most other green teas I've tried...reminds me more of a yellow tea. Some of the floral tones remind me of black tea.
This tea infuses many times, although I found it most interesting in the first cup or two. I noticed that the spent leaves have an oddly sticky texture.
This tea is very expensive (50 grams is just under $14), but I think it delivers good quality for its price. People who like yellow teas and green teas with a slightly darker quality and a lot of complexity may wish to pay the premium for it. Although it comes out rather differently based on how it is brewed, it always seems to produce good results. For price-conscious shoppers, TeaVivre's organic superfine dragon well is considerably lower-priced, and is still an excellent tea, only slightly less complex than this one. It might even be more enjoyable for people who like dragon well as I found it was a more typical example of this style.
