Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
Sleeping Dragon green tea is grown at about 3,000 feet in the mountainous Fujian province. The tightly rolled leaves and silvery fuzzy buds give this tea its signature shape and name. In the cup, it delivers a soft, fruity sweetness enfolded by a rich smokey note similar to a gunpowder, but more complex and crisp in the finish. Sleeping Dragon remains a great cup for a green tea novice or those who oppose the grassy character of some varieties.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
The fragrance of the dry tea has a strong vegetal scent, reminding me a little bit of the smell that fills the kitchen when I’m steaming broccoli. Maybe with a tad of seaweed in the steamer. Although … I’ve never done that. I probably won’t either.
Fortunately, this Sleeping Dragon Green Tea from Simple Loose Leaf doesn’t have a seaweed-ish taste to go along with that aroma. This is actually quite lovely!
The flavor reminds me of something between a green tea and a white tea. It has some of the fruity, melon-y notes that I might find in a white tea, but with a more forward presentation. It isn’t quite as delicate as I find most white teas to be, although it is a little more delicate than most green teas that I’ve encountered.
I also taste hints of citrus with the melon, and there are sweet, vegetative notes of a green tea that meld in a harmonious way with the fruit tones. Not grassy, but, with a non-aggressive vegetative note that reminds me of a sweet, mild green vegetable, perhaps a perfectly steamed artichoke. As suggested in the above description, I am also tasting a very subtle smokiness. There is only a very subtle dry astringency to this – so subtle that I think even those who tend to be sensitive to astringency can enjoy this.
The tightly wound leaves of this tea didn’t fully open with the first infusion, so I decided to take them for another steep! The second steep was very similar to the first. It was darker in color, and a little stronger in flavor than the first infusion, but, overall, the flavors were very similar. I noticed that the citrus notes that I detected in the first cup were not very noticeable in the second, but, these seemed to be replaced by a creaminess that I didn’t experience in the first cup.
Overall, a very interesting and delicious green tea. I don’t know that I’ve experienced a “Sleeping Dragon” green tea in the past, and so I’m glad I got to try it. I love that I’m being exposed to some new and exciting teas thanks to the monthly Selection Club box from Simple Loose Leaf!
To save 25% when you sign up for the Selection Club, use this code: SISTERSELECTION25. This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.
