Top 5 fave Chinese greens?

[Chip]

I was inspired by chittychat's topic http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 21#p159121

So, I went on a search on a vendor's green page, and they happened to offer 4 of my top fave Chinese greens while only offering maybe ~6 total. They got me salivating since I have not purchased any Chinese greens for a few years!

Please share your top 5 FAVORITE Chinese greens. I am talking about general offerings like Long Jing versus specific offerings like the umpteen Long Jings that are out there ... but let your palate be your guide as this is not a strict guideline.

You may not have a list of 5, or maybe more than 5 ... and of course, share who what when where and why!

I will add a poll in the next day or so!

[britt]

I was inspired by chittychat's topic http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 21#p159121

So, I went on a search on a vendor's green page, and they happened to offer 4 of my top fave Chinese greens while only offering maybe ~6 total. They got me salivating since I have not purchased any Chinese greens for a few years!

Please share your top 5 FAVORITE Chinese greens. I am talking about general offerings like Long Jing versus specific offerings like the umpteen Long Jings that are out there ... but let your palate be your guide as this is not a strict guideline.

You may not have a list of 5, or maybe more than 5 ... and of course, share who what when where and why!

I will add a poll in the next day or so!

I mostly avoided Chinese green tea until early this year due to the difficulty I had in finding high quality ones that I also believed were safe. Hou De, whose Chinese teas I trust completely, doesn't typically carry mainland greens. Even teas brought back by friends visiting China were not very good. These friends said they brought someone who lived there with them when they made the purchase because they were uncertain about the safety issues.

I recently started selectively purchasing Chinese greens from Jing Tea Shop and although I'll never give up sencha, good Chinese green tea, when you can find it, ranks right up at the top of my list. I have been blown away by how good it is compared to what I've had in the past. However, I only find that to be true when brewed in thin porcelain or glass.

The two notable Chinese greens so far are the Weng Jia Shan Long Jing and An Ji Bai Cha, both from Jing Tea Shop. When the Jing people return from their trip in early July, I plan on trying the Tai Ping Hou Kai.

[brad4419]

Heres my top 3, unfortunatly I haven't explored far into chinese greens although they are some of my favorites

Long jing (nutty/floral)
Jiu hua fo cha (floral)
Ding gu da fang (nutty)

[Chip]

1. Long Jing ... there are some amazing and different examples of LJ out there. One that was pretty different was Bai Lj from TeaSpring.
2. Tai Ping Hou Kui ... or just TPHK for those who like this one. A Cha Wang TPHK was the best I have had. Very unique in leaf form to flavor profile, outstanding.
3. Lua An Gua Pian ... along with TPHK, all leaf forms of green versus inclusion of a bud like ...
4. Zhu Ye Qing which is the best bud tea I have had, intensely vegetal early on easing into gentle sweetness. This is also the bast dancing leaf tea IMHO. So, best glass brewed.
5. Too tough to call, there are many great Chinese greens that deserve to be on this list.

Now the good news/bad news, each of these are likely available in authentic form, but are also high on the knock off list.

[chittychat]

From Teaspring I purchased my first Chinese green teas:

Ding Gu Da Fang
Lu An Gua Pian

An find them absolutely marvelous.

From Funalliance I got last year:

Tai Ping Hou Kui
and
(Long Jing) not to be included in this list of only 5.

Both were of excellent quality and had an affordable price.

From Pu-erhTea I enjoy almost daily

Yunnan Silver Needle
and once a week

Bi Luo Chun
which after I had learned how to brew it find it a great tea. Unfortunately I did not include it again in my last order.

[britt]

I was inspired by chittychat's topic http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 21#p159121

So, I went on a search on a vendor's green page, and they happened to offer 4 of my top fave Chinese greens while only offering maybe ~6 total. They got me salivating since I have not purchased any Chinese greens for a few years!

Please share your top 5 FAVORITE Chinese greens. I am talking about general offerings like Long Jing versus specific offerings like the umpteen Long Jings that are out there ... but let your palate be your guide as this is not a strict guideline.

You may not have a list of 5, or maybe more than 5 ... and of course, share who what when where and why!

I will add a poll in the next day or so!

I should have asked this before; are you referring only to Mainland Chinese green teas or does this subject include the green teas from Taiwan, such as Bi Li and Bi Luo Chun?

[britt]

I was inspired by chittychat's topic http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 21#p159121

So, I went on a search on a vendor's green page, and they happened to offer 4 of my top fave Chinese greens while only offering maybe ~6 total. They got me salivating since I have not purchased any Chinese greens for a few years!

Please share your top 5 FAVORITE Chinese greens. I am talking about general offerings like Long Jing versus specific offerings like the umpteen Long Jings that are out there ... but let your palate be your guide as this is not a strict guideline.

You may not have a list of 5, or maybe more than 5 ... and of course, share who what when where and why!

I will add a poll in the next day or so!

I should have asked this before; are you referring only to Mainland Chinese green teas or does this subject include the green teas from Taiwan, such as the Bi Lu and Bi Luo Chun available from Hou De?

[Chip]

Perhaps as a an addendum to your main list ... Taiwan greens are fantastic at times.

[Mikael]

Adagio is on the prowl for a good Chinese green to add to our Masters collection.. I'll be using this thread as research.

I personally love Long Jing... but am eager to try others.

[debunix]

Long Jing/Dragon Well (I've had wonderful versions from Wing Hop Fung and Jingteashop.com)
Bi Lo Chun (ditto)
Yunnan Mao Feng (the amazingly mellow tea from Norbu)

I've had quite a few others that are very nice, and some that I am unsure if they are truly white/yellow/green that might or might not fit, but these are definitely green teas.

[britt]

Perhaps as a an addendum to your main list ... Taiwan greens are fantastic at times.

The two Taiwanese greens I've tried from Hou De have been excellent. The 2010 Spring San Xia "Bi Luo Chun" was available in March and I was completely blown away by the amazing aroma when I initially opened the bag. This, of course, was followed by equally awesome taste when brewed in my thinnest gaiwan (I finally stopped trying to use clay for Chinese and Taiwanese greens).

[Oni]

My best green tea was Tai Ping Hou Kui from Hojotea, it was amazing, and I really cannot decide, because it greatly depends on the quality of the tea and not the name, Lu An Gua Pian is also great, An Ji Bai Cha, Bi Luo Chun, Long Jing (I had only a few packs, and not high quality, but I know there are fabulous examples out there).