Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zen Tea
Tea Description:
A most amazing tea – even just to look at. The name refers to the unusual and striking shape and color of the leaves, which are rolled into complex, tightly-curled dragon-like shapes with a silvery color. Curled Dragon Silver Tips is an extremely well-made tea, and a good example of the high level of hand-work. Even before infusion, the aroma of this tea is heavenly! Infused, it produces a complex, sweet and somewhat floral liquor. There are no edges and no astringency. Entirely handmade, it is a must have for green tea lovers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This has to be one of the most beautiful teas I’ve ever seen. The leaves are so tiny and frail looking, and have been shaped into itty-bitty dragon-like curls. Each tiny leaf is an absolutely stunning work of art! These leaves look as though they could be a white tea because of their pale green color and the tiniest little silvery fuzz that covers them.
The color of the liquid is almost as beautiful as the dry leaf. It is the palest shade of green, mixed with a translucent, golden alabaster. So breathtakingly gorgeous! Again, this tea looks as though it could be the highest quality white tea, rather than a green.
And all of this would mean very little if the tea was not also stunning. But it is, indeed, amazingly good. The texture reminds me just a bit of champagne, how it dances lightly over the tongue in an almost effervescent way until it settles in and offers a soft, smooth mouthfeel that lightly coats the palate.
The overall delicateness of this tea is also rather reminiscent of a fine white tea. The flavor is light and crisp with a sweet taste. It doesn’t taste strongly vegetative at all, in fact, this tea is one of the lighter, more delicate tasting green teas I’ve encountered. It features flavors that are sweeter and mellower than the typical vegetative tones that I notice with green teas that can be somewhat sharp. This is softer … like a very mild tasting, young artichoke heart. Not the ones that have been processed and pickled in a brine. But the fresh artichoke that has been steamed until tender and smooth like butter, with a flavor to match. Yeah, that’s what I taste now.
By mid-cup, I find that the vegetative notes have developed somewhat. They are still remarkably smooth and buttery, as there is not a sharp edge to this cup whatsoever. But, it has become much more green tea-like now that the tea has cooled slightly and I’ve been drinking it a little while. But it remains delicate. There is no astringency, no bitterness… nothing at all that might be construed as off-putting. It is just simply delicious.
