I cannot think about green teas without recalling that local coffee shop owner a few years back who told me to let my cup of green tea steep for *20 minutes.* Even as a tea newbie I knew that was wrong, and I imagine few people in that coffee shop (since closed) ever ordered green tea from him twice! Steeping greens is a delicate thing, I think, so I wasn't at all surprised to have to tweak my steeping time for this
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea from Teavivre.
I appreciate the fact that their instructions say to steep this tea "for 1 to 6 minutes." To me, that recognizes that different palates are at work here, and everyone needs to find the steeping time that's right for her (or him). I tried steeping this tea for 2 minutes at first. It had a strong roasted scent, and I suspected the tea might be a little strong for me. It was, so I steeped the tea again for just 1 minute, and this was just right. The tea had a nice brothy taste, and I feel so virtuous when sipping green teas because I know they're tasty AND good for me!
The next Teavivre tea I sampled was this
Bi Luo Chun Green Tea (or Pi Lo Chun). I often find beauty in the appearance of loose tea, and that was especially the case with this one. The wiry little leaves reminded me of pencil shavings, but these pencil shavings had little white hairs on them!
This was a mild green tea with a nice vegetal taste and just a touch of astringency, and I liked it very much! After trying a few flavored teas that were duds lately, it was extra nice to experience some "classic" tea flavors once again!
Having such a broad range of steeping time recommended for some teas makes it quite the experiment to arrive at the preferred taste.
ReplyDeleteDo you have one of the kettles for achieving the correct boiling temperature?
I brewed some tea for too long the other day - it is amazing the difference in flavor. "Less is more" in this case!
ReplyDeleteI tend to start with a very quick steep time for greens (especially Japanese greens) and move up from there. It is fun to experiment and find what your own preferences are!
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine steeping for twenty minutes. ;-) Nice review and photos. I enjoyed some Teavivre Dan Cong Oolong tea earlier today.
ReplyDeleteYes, I feel virtuous when sipping green teas too. Why is that? Humm? I think because we have been told so often how good it is for us. Teavivre does have some very good green teas for sure.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, a 20 min. steep. How funny. I like to try new green teas at different times. It's amazing how a minute changes the taste.
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