In my last post I gave you some information about Xin Yang Mao Jian a green Chinese tea.

In my cup…

The dry leaves of this tea were beautiful and delicate: 2-inch-long, needle like, twisted dark green spears that were downy – looked like little furry strips on the inner side of the leaf.  The dry leaves were very fragrant and had creamy, smoky, hay-like notes. The leaves were skillfully processed and rolled by human hands instead of machines, according to the information provided by the tea garden.

Brewing and In my cup…

Steep 1 – 1 minute

I used my gawian, with the water temperature at 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The liquor was a bright, greenish yellow and had a rather velvety texture. This cup was slightly bitter and quite vegetal with herbaceous, grassy notes, but there were underlying notes of floral spiciness.  There was also a slight smokiness up front that reminded me of perhaps the smokiness of a Raw Pu-erh. It also had some slight nutty notes and the finish was a bit sweeter.

Steep 2- 1 minute 30 sec
A little stronger on this steep, with the vegetal notes just about the same. There were a few differences… the smokiness seemed a little more woodsy or earthy this time.

Steep 3- 2 minute
I didn’t think it was very good for a 3rd steep. All the flavor notes were still there but basically washed out. Essentially it was too weak now to even be bitter.

 For a green tea and for me (since I am NOT a green tea fan) it was well balanced and dare I say rather elegant. It was multi-layered but all the flavor notes were in perfect harmony with each other. Bitterness was far from being dominant in this tea, although it did have some pleasant astringency, especially in the second steeping. In the end …Xin Yang Mao Jian is one of the ten most sought after Chinese green teas with a pronounced green character. So, if you are partial to Chinese green teas- this is a must for you! However, for me it was a 4 – ( I did enjoy it for a green tea, but I would not purchase it again).

Rating Scale

All teas will be rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 for dislike and 5 as love:

1. Dislike (I didn’t like the tea and would not repurchase)
2. Passable (I didn’t dislike the tea, but I didn’t think it was very good)
3. Average (I didn’t find it good or bad and would drink it again)
4. Good (I liked it but it and may repurchase)
5. Love (I enjoyed it lot and would repurchase

Next… Yoshimasa- Japanese Shogun