by thirst » May 27th, '13, 14:13
I just tried some Emperor Long Jing (2013) from Teaspring today. I'm pretty confused. The other Long Jing I have, from Teegschwendner, is completely different. The Teaspring one is light and very sweet, and not much vegetal – quite similar to the other Teaspring greens I've tried, to the point where I'm not sure if I could reliably tell them apart. Maybe the subtle differences are too much for me at this point. (I've also only had them once (with multiple steeps), and steeped them all with 1g/~50-60ml/pre-warmed/80dc/1m.) In comparison, the Teegschwendner Long Jing that I've been drinking for much longer is much darker, bolder, much more vegetal, bean-y, maybe, and pretty unique amongst all the green teas I've ever had. Sweet isn't something that ever came to mind when I had it, I think; but I do like its mellowness a lot. Freshness and sweetness can be nice, but it's not always something I'm looking for in a tea, it seems. Maybe the TG Long Jing is much more roasted? In any case, all the 2013 Teaspring greens I've had have been light and exceedingly sweet, which was a completely new experience with Chinese greens for me. Maybe I should try one of the Long Jings from Jing Tea Shop?