2024 Chinese green tea thread

[GaoShan]

It's that time of year again, when people start getting excited about the first green tea harvest! Every year, I wonder whether fancy green tea is worth the cost, so I finally decided to find out.

I've pre-ordered Teavivre's Mingqian Bi Luo Chun and Mingqian Long Jing, as well as samples of Mingqian Long Jing, Bi Luo Chun, Anji Bai Cha, and Meng Ding Huang Ya from Treasure Green. I may also order from Seven Cups when their green teas come in. Having three or four dragonwells at different price points should help me understand whether higher-priced green tea is worth it to me.

In terms of brewing, is there anything I should do differently with the good stuff? I typically grandpa steep 3 g in about 250 ml of water at around 185F (maybe 175F for Long Jing, depending on the vendor's instructions).

Are you planning to buy any Chinese green tea this year? (I'll let someone else post a 2024 Japanese green tea thread after the Thés du Japon débacle! )

[Janice]

The past few years I’ve purchased all my Chinese greens from Seven Cups. What they’ve been doing is offering a 20§ discount the first weekend they offer a new tea or teas. Of course I always end up buying enough tea to get free shipping! I like to space out my purchases so I can drink the tea soon after I receive it.

If you sign up for their newsletter you’ll receive notices of these specials.

I look forward to your evaluations of the different grades and sources of long jing.

[GaoShan]

The past few years I’ve purchased all my Chinese greens from Seven Cups. What they’ve been doing is offering a 20§ discount the first weekend they offer a new tea or teas. Of course I always end up buying enough tea to get free shipping! I like to space out my purchases so I can drink the tea soon after I receive it.

If you sign up for their newsletter you’ll receive notices of these specials.

I look forward to your evaluations of the different grades and sources of long jing.

I just saw your reply, so I apologize for not getting back to you earlier. Seven Cups charges $16 to ship to Canada, so I'm hoping to bundle all my teas into one order. I cleared this with the owner over the phone, who generously said he would do this. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get the sale prices, though I'm not counting on it.

Thanks for letting me know about their newsletter.

[vgamedude]

Seven cups already ran out of stock of one of their 2 new types of tea for 2024. Must be popular.

I personally have tried spring teas previously from Yunnan sourcing and also a few from Alex of Yunnancraft (2023 harvest) who frequents this forum and I've enjoyed both. I thought a Hou Kui from Alex was particularly good.

If anyone has some recommendations for Chinese greens fresh this year that are maybe a bit lower price than Sevencups but a step up and more than Yunnan Sourcing I'd be interested to have a look, I should probably get a bit more tea soon. Alex doesn't have any 2024 greens yet I can see.

PS: I noticed Taiwan Tea Crafts has some 2024 tea and I'm interested in trying more Ruby T-18 cultivar tea as well, if anyone knows how their tea is like their 2024 greens I'd be interested too, thanks.

[Janice]

Seven Cups has two new teas on sale this week - First Pluck Bi Luo Chun and Lao Cha Yuan Ganlu (Old Garden Sweet Dew). Sometimes more of a particular tea is available again later but I’m “addicted” to getting the new teas as soon as they’re available.

Seven Cups teas are not inexpensive but I like the quality and sourcing methods. I need to restrict myself to small quantities of tea so it doesn’t cost me that much per day. They have a Thursday newsletter and this time of year that’s where they announce sale teas and include background on them.

[GaoShan]

I've already got some beautiful pre-Ming buds from Treasure Green, which I'm having a hard time saving. My Teavivre order is on the way, and I've barely begun ordering from Seven Cups. Looks like my comparative tasting may need to wait a while.

@vgamedude, if you want a step up from YS, I'd recommend Teavivre. Their Anji Bai Cha was excellent last year, as was their pre-Qingming Bi Luo Chun. (I thought their regular BLC was okay, but not memorable.) I've also liked their Ming Qian and Superfine Longjing, though I haven't had it in a while. I also liked their yellow tea, though I can't remember its name. I think it was a Huo Shan Huang Ya.

@Janice, I snagged 25 g of that Bi Luo Chun from Seven Cups last week, and am waiting for their Anji and Longjing. I hope their teas are worth it!

[GaoShan]

Because I'm totally impatient, I'm drinking a pre-Qingming Meng Ding Huang Ya from Treasure Green today (3 g, 120 ml, 176F, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, etc.). I think this is my first yellow tea from Meng Ding. I get lovely notes of corn silk, butter, hazelnuts, green beans, and faint florals in a thick soup. The tea becomes more vegetal as the session goes on, but I also get some nice melon notes in the aftertaste. I can taste the roast more than I expected (I get some toasted rice in the aroma like a genmaicha). This yellow tea seems more delicate than the Huo Shan Huang Ya I've had in the past, though it's also more vegetal.