I was very disappointed with this tea; it was the only sample I received from the Boston Tea Company that I did not like; the others were all quite enjoyable.

Dried leaf is broken and more grayish than other dragon wells I've seen. This does not taste at all like other dragon wells I've tried. Aroma is slightly smoky and dark. The smokiness is more like that of a chun mee, but this tea does not have the bite of a chun mee.

The overall character is bland. There are many "off" characters in the aroma...overall it tasted somewhat stale. The flavor is also unpleasant, a sort of nasty sourness, and somewhat astringent. I tried varying the brewing quite a bit but was unable to come up with a satisfactory way of preparing this tea.

It may be that the Boston Tea Company specializes in British-style teas, and this is a Chinese tea that is not well-known in the west, historically, so it's not their strong suit, but I still think they could do better.

This is one of the few times when I will make a recommendation that I think is not a matter of personal taste: I would not recommend this tea to anyone, and I think the Boston Tea Company would do well to consider changing their source or supplier of this tea...perhaps, consider stocking a different green tea in its place. Good dragon well tea is expensive, and they may find it easier to find a higher-quality tea of some other Chinese variety, such as Chun Mee, Gunpowder, or perhaps a Japanese green like Bancha.

In the lower end of the price range though, I have found Wegmans dragon well to be quite drinkable (although certainly not amazing).

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