Tuesday 8 March 2016

Review: HuangShan MaoFeng

Another mystery tea from the stocks brought into the T2000 Chinese shop in Kigali in the run up to Chinese new year. Comes in one of those intriguing boxes where the only thing I can read is the name. Good luck reading their website :)

I vaguely recall having a MaoFeng sometime in Switzerland and not liking it but I find my tastes change from time to time and the other teas I bough were such good quality I thought I'd give it a go.



Huang Shan MaoFeng [China, grassy] *** $$   by  by Tea Tf, CN

Other names: ,Yellow Mountain Fur Peak


The leaves were short and spiky, somewhat like white tea and there was a fresh, definite chocolate nose to the leaves which was divine. Indeed the "shan" part of the name would suggest that its a young tea, given my very limited knowledge of Chinese*

In the cup the tea was a light green, much like LongJing and the colour stayed pale even with longer brewing. There were grassy fresh tastes again like LongJing but also has a soft milkyness like some of the floral Oolongs. Overall a very likable tea indeed and recommended for it smooth drinking and wonderful colour. 



Similar Teas: Chinese grassy teas such as LongJing, Bancha, oolongs.



* Yes I know Chinese isn't a language, I'm using it here as shorthand for all of the dialects and languages in China!

Saturday 5 March 2016

Review: Moli Maojian

So it turns out Chinese new year was an unexpected boon for me, as the local Chinese mega-store (and in the running for Kigali’s oldest department store) T2000 got a whole bunch of awesome teas that they don’t normally stock.

I took the opportunity to restock on Puerh and Guan Yin and also found two others I didn’t recognize. First up, MoLi Maojian....

 MoLi MaoJian [China, grassy/floral] **** $$   by  by Tea Tf, CN

Other names: 信阳毛尖, Fur Tip

I had a vague recollection of having something with a name like Maojian in Switzerland and not being that impressed, however with the first smell of the tea when I opened the package I knew I was in for a treat.


Fresh, floral notes very reminiscent of Guan Yin and another aroma I could not quite place. In short this tea smells awesome! The freshness carried through to the taste and for the floral notes, it certainly contains some flower looking thing. Ozymandias maybe?

Footnote:
I am an idiot, the flowers in the tea were JASMINE. In my defense I didn't have jasmine tea for a very long time, however its one of the easier flavors to discern. Usually. 

That said, this is a remarkably well put together jasmine tea as the grassy notes from the MaoJian play off well against the Jasmine, which is not overpowering. Note that like most jasmine teas, if you try to reuse the leaves too often all you will taste is jasmine.