| Photo: Teavivre |
Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: small, jade green, needle-like shape
Ingredients: green tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 175 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: very pale yellowish green
Mao Feng is one of my favorite green teas but I don’t get to indulge in it very often. This particular one was wonderfully delicate and complex. It had an interesting minerality in the beginning of each sip. This turned into a mildly vegetal sweetness that lingered in my palate. My second infusion, steeped for 1 minute, developed a fruity note that was not there in the first round. The third infusion, steeped for 1 minute 30 seconds, was rounder and fuller bodied with a hint of chestnuts. I really wish that I had a glass gaiwan handy because the leaves were really beautiful. There were so many buds that I’m left with a sense of wonder at how long it must have taken someone to hand pick enough of them to make this tea. In case you are wondering, nonpareil is a term denotes a tea that was used to be paid as tribute to the emperor.
You can find out more about this tea here.