I made a video on Huang Shan Mao Fengs being on the market too early

Non-oxidized tea
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Sweetestdew
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Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:11 pm

Around this time I see a curious thing online, people advertising this years mao feng. This is curious to me because living in Huang Shan, the season clearly hasnt started. I decided to do a video on this topic in which I talk to two different tea friends. When asked about the very early teas they both responded the same way.

They both explained that there were special cultivars that were meant specifically for budding early, even naming the same cultivar. The point of this teas is not to produce high quality flavor but to instead fill the demand in the tea gift area of the market for early picked, beautiful looking, teas. For this reason, as pretty as they look, they really have no flavor.

Here is a link to the video if you are interested.
https://thesweetestdew.com/2020/03/22/m ... too-early/
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Bok
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Tue Mar 24, 2020 12:13 am

Very interesting, thank you!
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pedant
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Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:01 am

nice video and article, thanks
Sweetestdew
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Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:49 pm

I'm glad you guys like it.
I want to add that right now I am drinking the first pickings of the first lady's tea.

Its is so good.
This may be a really good year for Mao Feng
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Victoria
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Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:09 pm

Enjoyed reading your article and watching your videos @Sweetestdew. I’d better finish my stash soon. What is your favorite way of steeping Mao Feng? Great reportage, keep it coming and thank you 🍃.
Sweetestdew
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Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:36 am

Victoria wrote:
Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:09 pm
Enjoyed reading your article and watching your videos Sweetestdew. I’d better finish my stash soon. What is your favorite way of steeping Mao Feng? Great reportage, keep it coming and thank you 🍃.
I am glad my articles are enjoyed.
I was taught that gong dao beis are the only way to brew greens and yellows. Since coming to China I have seen a whole lot of gaiwan brewing, but gong dao bei brewing is by now my defualt and favorite way to brew.
I like it because you can see the leaves expand and sink. Plus it really allows you to use your sense of smell through out the brewing process.
Ethan Kurland
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Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:21 pm

gong dao beis: one pours the liquid out & lets the leaves (or almost all of them) remain, yes? Not so different than when I use a porcelain bowl or perhaps some people's grandpa style brewing if they drink quickly enough to let the initial steeping time be the main determinant of how the infusions taste.

cheers
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Victoria
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Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:34 pm

Sweetestdew wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:36 am
I am glad my articles are enjoyed.
I was taught that gong dao beis are the only way to brew greens and yellows. Since coming to China I have seen a whole lot of gaiwan brewing, but gong dao bei brewing is by now my defualt and favorite way to brew.
I like it because you can see the leaves expand and sink. Plus it really allows you to use your sense of smell through out the brewing process.
I too have been steeping in a glass vessel, just wondering if you are using warmer water/fewer or more leaves/less more time etc. than what I’ve arrived at;
5gr/180ml/185F/6min+ waiting for leaves to drop down, in a glass decanter posted here 🍃. But I think mine is getting older (1.5 years?) so maybe not in it’s prime.
Ethan Kurland
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Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:35 am

I just drank Huang Shoul Mao Feng sent to me by Sweetestdew. 2 grams steeped in 120 ml of 96C water for a minute = flavorless. 2nd infusion steeped for 2 minutes = flavorless.

The other tea Bai Mu ---- was exact opposite. Strongest nuclear green flavor that I don't want to comment on, because I do not like green tea. I try green tea some years to see whether I have changed. This may be great tea for those who like green tea.

Side note: I am grateful to Sweetestdew for inspiring me to try green again. I often make comments about lightly oxidized gaoshan & white tea having qualities of green tea & some vegetal taste. Trying these green teas reminds me that when I pick up flavors & say what I say, it is in relative terms. It is not the same product of strong green tea.
Sweetestdew
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Fri Mar 27, 2020 3:14 am

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:35 am
I just drank Huang Shoul Mao Feng sent to me by Sweetestdew. 2 grams steeped in 120 ml of 96C water for a minute = flavorless. 2nd infusion steeped for 2 minutes = flavorless.

The other tea Bai Mu ---- was exact opposite. Strongest nuclear green flavor that I don't want to comment on, because I do not like green tea. I try green tea some years to see whether I have changed. This may be great tea for those who like green tea.

Side note: I am grateful to Sweetestdew for inspiring me to try green again. I often make comments about lightly oxidized gaoshan & white tea having qualities of green tea & some vegetal taste. Trying these green teas reminds me that when I pick up flavors & say what I say, it is in relative terms. It is not the same product of strong green tea.
Hi Ethan,
I'm sorry to hear you didn't like the tea.
The tea in the small packet was the Huang Shan Mao Feng from last year. Mao Feng is a very light tea and subtle. The qualities of Mao Feng to look for is the thick savoriness. Someone on here made the great comparison to tofu, more about the texture than the actual flavor. That being said I tasted the mao feng the other day during a live session on instagram and also found it a little stale. It has since been taken off the website.

The tea in the big tin was a Bi Luo Chun and I will have to agree that is a stronger green tea, especially the way my friend's dad makes it.

If nothing else I am glad to hear that the expirence at least showed you the broad range of green tea flavors. A single green tea will vary from maker to maker. I hope you completely write off Bi Luo Chun and Mao Feng. Just cause you don't like these two doesnt mean you will never like any. I suggest Harney and Son's Bi Luo Chun, it is softer on the pallate.

I also suggest trying the later pickings of Mao Feng, they will have more flavor and will be more affordable for expiremental teas then early pick Mao Fengs. I will offer some later pick Mao Fengs this year, if you haven't completely given up on Mao Fengs or me. XD

On a final note, I think saying white tea can have green tea notes is a fair representation of flavor notes found in some white teas.
Sweetestdew
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Fri Mar 27, 2020 10:51 am

Ethan Kurland wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 10:35 am
I just drank Huang Shoul Mao Feng sent to me by Sweetestdew. 2 grams steeped in 120 ml of 96C water for a minute = flavorless. 2nd infusion steeped for 2 minutes = flavorless.
Tasted the tea from the bag I sent you from, you're right the flavor is completely gone. Mao Feng is subtle, but that was empty.
Not sure what happened, but I'm sorry I sent you a dead tea.
Last edited by pedant on Sat Mar 28, 2020 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: mod edit: fixed quote
Ethan Kurland
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Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:20 am

I was incorrect in saying "flavorless". After it had cooled to room temperature (& after I had posted), I drank more & it did have some flavor which was okay for me who does not drink green tea usually & probably more than okay for those who do.

I am not saying the other tea was bad. I am not someone who likes what many people who drink green tea like. That strong taste that I think of as something like kale juice is what many people look for. (please forgive my bad description of this, I am trying to explain). One point that I wanted to make was more about me & about description of teas by others as well. In the context of talking about lightly oxidized oolong, one may refer to "green" flavors or "vegetal taste" but it is not the same as what many people may want from truly green tea such as yours.

I am reminded that freshness may come from gaoshan & white tea but that a certain power as you describe: definite body to the tea felt so much in one's mouth that comes from green tea such as what you sent me, is a totally different experience since it combines with different flavor.

I have been tempted at times to describe white tea as a sort of green tea with extremely light body. It is not. I am glad that drinking your tea keeps me smarter than that. Thanks.
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