En Shi Yu Lu: A China Green for Japanese Tea Lovers

[Splinters]

I recently purchased a few teas from TeaSpring, including a tea I had never heard of before: En Shi Yu Lu.

En Shi Yu Lu is one of the few steamed China Greens originating from Hubei province. And it is as unusual as its origin.

Upon opening the packet, I was almost bowled over by the scent of the leaves -- they have an extremely powerful vegetal scent. The leaves themselves are rolled into pine needles, and are dark green, with a resemblance to an unbroken gyokuro.

The color of the cup is a light green. The scent is nutty, not unlike a Dragon Well. But the taste is totally unexpected from the scent and color. The cup is bold -- intensely bold. It's vegetal and green in a Japanese vein. Very strong, complex, and interesting. Oh, and pretty well caffeinated.

Definitely worth a try, especially for lovers of tea from Japan.

[Chip]

I had been checking that one out! I only ever had a crappy steamed Chinese green from a local farmers market that I never finished.

Thanks for sharing this one with us. Sounds definitely worth a try.

[Salsero]

That really sounds interesting. Are you saying that the leaves are whole leaves wrapped into a pine needle ("unbroken gykuro")? This one is definitely going onto my TeaSpring shopping list! Thanks. I've noticed it, but figured it was just Chinencha, as Ed calls Chinese imitation sencha.

[olivierco]

The leaves themselves are rolled into pine needles, and are dark green, with a resemblance to an unbroken gyokuro.

What size are those needles?

[Splinters]

I shook a few needles into my hand and measured them. The longer ones are about 1.5 inches (3.75 cm) long, and the average ones are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Smaller pieces are about .75 inches (2 cm) long.

So, unless I'm fooled, I think these are whole leaves wrapped into twisty pine needles. You can take a look on the TeaSpring site at the pictures; they're pretty accurate.

Is En Shi Yu Lu just a Chinese sencha? That I can't answer. To my mind, the most distinctive thing about a sencha is the fact that it is steamed. And En Shi Yu Lu is steamed. But, at least to me, En Shi Yu Lu is also distinctive in its own right. Your mileage may vary. If you're looking for the delicate flavor of a gyokuro, look elsewhere. This is a heady brew with an assertive taste.

[Sydney]

I got some from TeaSpring recently, and the stuff is just fantastic. I gave it a brief review at A Tasty Beverage and hope to buy more before everyone reads this thread and blows away the supply.

[Sydney]

Flavor-wise, it's nothing like (my beloved) sencha to me.

I don't like the word vegetal, because I associate it with something other than what it means in the tea world. (I think of vegetal in the Southern kitchen sense.) But this stuff does have a real delicious freshness.

And a warm, "comfort food" buttery taste. mmmmm

[Jack_teachat]

Thanks will definitely check this one out!

[chrl42]

It's very rare tea, En Shi was famous for tea since Song dynasty and Yu Lu was being produced since Qing dynasty.

I'd been trying to find that tea before, most of Chinese tea sellers at Ma Lian Dao wouldn't have even heard of that tea. So I referred to as 'Hubei Cha' and they were like..'does Hubei produce green tea?'

One time, I've found the store where had Yu Lu. And she was stunned with her mouth opened and said 'how did you hear about that tea?' lol

BTW Yu Lu means Gyokuro in Japanese. Meaning Jade-Mist. Could it have some relation to the trace of Japanese tea? as it is as well steamed, etc..

[gingkoseto]

It's very rare tea, En Shi was famous for tea since Song dynasty and Yu Lu was being produced since Qing dynasty.

I'd been trying to find that tea before, most of Chinese tea sellers at Ma Lian Dao wouldn't have even heard of that tea. So I referred to as 'Hubei Cha' and they were like..'does Hubei produce green tea?'

One time, I've found the store where had Yu Lu. And she was stunned with her mouth opened and said 'how did you hear about that tea?' lol

BTW Yu Lu means Gyokuro in Japanese. Meaning Jade-Mist. Could it have some relation to the trace of Japanese tea? as it is as well steamed, etc..

Aha, Ma Lian Dao! I am so looking forward to going there someday. I heard that is the IT place in Beijing (or probably north China) to get everything about tea.

I have never had en shi yu lu. It must be fun to have it since it's almost the last type of steamed green tea in China using the ancient processing method.

[Jack_teachat]

I was thinking today, would you brew this more like a japanese tea because of the way it is processed? If so would that be a gyokuro or a sencha?