Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Driftwood Tea
Tea Description:
Our Huang Shan Mao Feng comes from the first picking in early spring, when the finest teas are selected, and is a beautiful example of one of China’s ‘Ten Famous Teas.’ A real Champagne tea and one every Chinese and green tea lover should really experience fresh.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Ah … lovely! This Pre Rain Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea from Driftwood Tea is really a wonderful tea to experience.
The leaves are long and fluffy, and their shape and fluffy/bulky kind of quality reminds me a bit of a Silver Needle tea, but the color is a darker green color than the typical Silver Needle tea. They also do not feel as soft to the touch as a typical Silver Needle tea. But that’s OK, of course, because this is NOT a Silver Needle tea … it’s a Mao Feng.
And this is truly a lovely example of a Mao Feng. It is light and delicate, with notes of a fresh “grassy” kind of taste … but this grassy/vegetative taste is not a strong note. It is light, and there is an overture of sweetness that is almost nut-like, and this sweetness keeps the grassy tone from tasting ‘bitter’ or off. It’s a very pleasing, delicate balance between sweet and vegetative.
There is also a very enjoyable floral note that is almost indistinguishable with the first few sips, but as I continue to sip, this delightful floral note develops.
Mao Feng is a classic Chinese green tea, and as the above description states, it’s one of the famous ten teas. What makes Mao Feng teas so special to me is their simplicity. But even though I tend to call Mao Feng teas a “simple” green, there is complexity to them too. They have lovely layers of flavor, very soothing, and very pleasing to the palate. Sweet, nutty notes together with a brothy, vegetative grassy tone that is delicate yet lush, and the floral note that builds as one continues to sip.
A truly lovely tea, this Huang Shan Mao Feng Green Tea from Driftwood Tea! If you are a green tea lover, this is one for you to add to your must try list!
Organic Huang Shan Hair Tip from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description:
Our organic Huang Shan Hair Tip Green Tea (also known as Huang Shan Mao Feng) is grown in the mountainous regions of China’s Anhui province, in the vicinity of the picturesque Yellow Mountain (Huang Shan). This tea is one of the top ten most legendary teas in all of China. Mao Feng teas are usually plucked when the buds are swollen from rain but still young and tender. The medium-green leaf sets yield a pale, straw-colored infusion with light body and a smooth, somewhat sweet and lightly vegetal flavor reminding of fresh garden zucchini.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I like to taste the tea – drink about half the cup – before I start my reviews, so that I can get a good idea of what I want to say about it. I also like to drink about half the cup before I start writing the review because, I like to wait before I read the description of the tea from the vendor so that I can formulate my own opinion about the tea without the influence of the purveyor’s description.
So, when I did get around to reading the above description, I have to say YES! That’s what I’m tasting. Especially when I got around to the zucchini comparison. This tastes very much like zucchini: mild tasting, and with a hint of butter, as if the zucchini has been either lightly sauteed in butter or perhaps steamed and then lightly buttered. There are also notes of hay and some very faint fruit tones to the cup, somewhat apple-esque.
When I took my first couple of sips, I could have sworn I was sipping on a yellow tea … because it has some similarities in taste to my beloved yellow teas too, although I must say that this is definitely more green tea tasting than yellow tea. But, it was quite nice to discover some yellow-ish taste to this!
Overall, I’m really loving this tea… certainly a good one. But, as I’ve gotten to know Arbor Teas over the past couple of years, it’s become somewhat expected! They have some of the best teas available anywhere online! I highly recommend them!
Huang Shan Yun Wu (Yellow Mountain Cloud) from Life in Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Product Description:
Production Year: 2011
Production Season: Spring
Production Region: Anhui Province, Yellow Mountain
Style: Chao Qing (stir-fry to kill enzyme)Small amount of leaves of this tea end up a lot when brewed in hot water. Therefore, use less than normal amount of leaves.
Taster’s Review:
This is a fantastic green tea, one that I’d recommend to someone who is just starting out with green tea because it is not too overly grassy tasting (which can be somewhat off-putting to someone who is new green tea). It is pleasant and mild, and yet so rich in flavor.
The sip begins with a pleasant savory flavor that tastes vaguely of stewed vegetables. It is a vegetative taste, but, it is quite unlike the vegetative flavor that I often encounter with green tea. This is a unique kind of flavor that is quite rich … like vegetable broth. The texture of the tea further emphasizes the brothy quality of this tea.
Quickly the sip transitions to a sweeter flavor: a honey-esque sweetness where I can almost taste the floral nectar. It doesn’t have a strong and distinct floral taste, however, there are hints of floral notes that seem to dance around in the background, enticing me to take another sip so that I might pinpoint exactly what I taste. Sweet and incredibly pleasant. There is also a hint of spicy taste, similar to fresh ginger that lies beneath the surface, and peeks out every now and again to keep me intrigued.
A wonderfully contemplative tea, this Yellow Mountain Cloud!