I was eager to try this because it was the only pure green tea in tea bags sold by Mighty Leaf, other than their hojicha which is roasted and does not taste at all like a green tea.

I wasn't crazy about this tea; if I had to divide all dragon wells into "good dragonwell" vs. "bad dragonwell" this one almost falls between the two categories, sort of like Yuengling is hailed by some of my friends as living in a category between "cheap beers" and "good beers". It didn't really seem true to the dragon well style, but it had fewer objectionable qualities.

Dragon well is a type of tea where the low-quality examples of it can be pretty bad. If a company is going to use an inexpensive tea as a base tea, why not try something like Yun Wu (Cloud Mist), Chun Mee (Precious Eyebrows), or Mao Feng, where, at least in my experience it's easy to get decent-quality teas very cheaply?

This tea's aroma wasn't what I expected from a Dragon Well. The aroma is complex, fruity, vegetal and herbaceous, and with a slight minty note. Not as toasty as I expect from a dragon well, and only a hint of the chestnut flavor.

Flavor and mouthfeel is initially clean, but there is a fairly strong astringency that develops as I drink the cup, more than I'd like.

I was able to resteep it though, and the second cup was both flavorful and aromatic, so that is a plus. Contrast with Adagio's dragon well, which I thought tasted better, but the flavor gave out after one infusion...it would be a toss-up which one I preferred, but that one seemed a bit truer to the style.

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.