I got this box free with an order of loose Ten Ren tea. The normal price is $4 for a box of 20 tea bags.

The individual bags are sealed in plastic for freshness and the aroma is quite strong when opened. It doesn't smell like dragon well to me, though, but like cheap gunpowder or pearl green. The dry tea is chopped quite fine.

Adding the water rehabilitates the tea, though. The steeping tea does have the fresh, bitter, grassy aroma of a decent dragon well. After three minutes in 180°F water, the tea is a greenish amber. The flavor's better than I expected.

The tea is fresh-tasting with just enough bitterness on the edges of the tongue and almost no astringency. The flavor is rich with a long finish. I'm quite surprised at the quality of the tea compared to the appearance of the dry tea bag. As the tea cools, the bitterness moves to the front a bit, but still isn't unpleasant. Some fruitiness appears with a hint of tart berries or melon.

This tea isn't as complex as more expensive green teas and there's a bit of older tea leaf in the aftertaste, but it's still one of the best green teas available in regular tea bags. I've had (and enjoyed) more expensive green teas that weren't this good.

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