I wouldn't buy this again. I purchased it at the Newark, Delaware Farmer's market out of curiosity. Usually I've had better experiences with teas there, like discovering the remarkably inexpensive and high-quality Tradition brand. This was a disappointment though.

Dry leaf looks dusty silvery-green, looks a lot like a chun mee or young hyson tea. Contains quite a lot of twig. Aroma is lightly smoky, with a sweet note. Surprisingly refined, subtle fragrance for such a cheap tea. I got my hopes up from the smell of the leaf; unfortunately the cup disappointed.

The cup is very bold and strong tasting, fairly strong, with a metallic taste that I found somewhat unpleasant. Its aroma is nice though, lightly smoky with fairly bold notes of celery or other carrot-family herbs, a hint of grass in there. Moderately astringent.

I find the metallic quality to be unpleasant, it's so present that it detracts from the enjoyment of what I would otherwise think to be a good, enjoyable tea overall. I was careful to use low-temperature water, and the metallic taste was still strong and dominant.

This tea was cheap but I wouldn't buy it again. I much prefer similar teas, especially chun mee, from my favorite retailers, especially the various choices from Upton Tea Imports. Among cheap Chinese teas sold by these export companies and available in Asian markets, the stuff from Starway (Huang shan mao feng or Bi Luo Chun) is a similar price and blows this away, in my opinion.

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