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Pretty simple, strong on the peach and citrus. A bit too cloying. Nothing to write home about. I hope it really is good for the skin :)

Note: Next time, 185˚F, 45s for first infusion.

1st infusion: 185˚F, 1 min
Smells beautiful and floral. Still tastes slightly bitter. Maybe I need to steep for shorter. Or for longer. (Confused)

2nd infusion: 185˚F, split experiment
Half of this infusion steeped for 1:00, the other half for 2:30. Shorter is the clear winner here. The 1:00 was light and fresh, 2:30 was incredibly bitter. Now I know. Don’t follow the instructions on the package (which says 1 to 1.5 min).

3rd infusion: 185˚F, 1:15
Now I’ve got the hang of it. Could probably have gone a bit hotter or longer.

4th infusion: 190˚F, 1:45

5th infusion: 190˚F, 2:10
Done.

Note: This is a later-harvest Longjing and thus trickier to brew than the higher-end Longjings. In future, skip the rinse and brew at 177 – 180˚F, for 40s / 55s / 70s / 90-95s.

Even when sufficiently steeped, the liquor is paler than any other tea I’ve seen so far––it’s the colour of moonlight, paler than canola oil, the sepia of a recent memory.

Brewing this Longjing in a gaiwan this time. Rinsed for 1s before brewing.

1st infusion (175˚F, 45s):
Strong buttery fragrance as usual. Tastes clear, fresh, but a bit astringent this time. Next time maybe just 40s. (Assuming I dilly-dally and take 5s to get to the gaiwan and pour it out)

2nd infusion (175˚F, 55s):
Surprisingly, the buttery scent is gone from the leaves. All I smell is vegetal and fruity plum notes. It’s really intoxicating. The tea still tastes buttery though. Unfortunately halfway through drinking this my mouth got so dry I had to throw out the rest of this infusion.

3rd infusion (177˚F, 65s):
Not bad, the astringency has decreased. Maybe it’s better brewed at a slightly higher temperature.

4th infusion (180˚F, 75s):
Lightly, elegantly scented water. We’re done here.

I think I measured out the low side of 3g of leaves this time. It was a bit too watery, and there was almost no scent left in the 3rd infusion. Better to err on the side of more leaves with this oolong.

Very warming, hearty cup of tea. Reminds me of the medicinal herbal Chinese teas I used to drink as a child in Singapore. Not sweet, just what I need after drinking a way-too-sugary apple cider. I don’t think all Westerners will like this but it is a perfect before-bed drink for me.

This tea smells so beautiful, both dry and brewed.

Visual inspection: The quality of the tea seems not great because you have to use 5-6g in a gaiwan, and they’re all tiny bits of broken leaf that flow out into your cup, not whole leaves.

First infusion: I may have overbrewed a little at 190˚F for 1:30, I get a dark amber liquor that tastes slightly bitter.

Second infusion: Much better at 185˚F. Bitterness is gone.

This is the 2015 harvest that I bought in Feb 2016. Brewed 12oz in a teapot so that I can bring one of the steepings to work.

First infusion: My God, this smells so sweet! Like warm butter. It tastes like fresh buttery spring water. Am I being transported to the legendary Dragon Well? This is amazing.

Second infusion: The divine fragrance is gone, but we’re left with a smooth-drinking liquor which retains the buttery and a nice flavour of toasted nuts. These leaves are pretty done, but I will try a third infusion with a gaiwan next time.

Note: next time, try a 4-minute infusion and use only 1.5 tsp for 8 oz of water.

I was intrigued by the strong scent of almonds in this one, but the scent was terrifyingly sweet. I brewed it for a post-dinner digestif with my partner, who is much more of a non-flavoured tea drinker (he goes for oolongs and white teas) and fortunately this was not as sweet.

A 4-minute infusion seemed a bit bland, so we steeped it for longer and now it is slightly sweet. Gets cloying midway through the cup and I’m sick of the artificial “almond essence” smell. Not the best rooibos blend but nowhere near as mind-numbingly saccharine as it smells. I’ll try stopping at 4 minutes next time. With the rooiboses I’m learning that less is more.

Rating: 52

Update 1/16/2018: Rating: 60

Smells exactly like a rich caramel frappuccino from Starbucks. It tastes a little more subdued, like some kind of “health” drink. I wouldn’t drink it straight, but it might be baller with some milk. Love it as a decaf version of a breakfast coffee au lait.

Was browsing green teas at Red Blossom Tea Company this weekend. The dry leaves of the Spring Mao Feng 2015 smelt beautiful –– even nicer than the super buttery premium Dragon Wells. It was a harmonious blend of grassy and buttery.

Unfortunately after steeping, it tasted mostly grassy. Slightly toast buttery but more grassy. Not a bad green, but I went with the Pre-Rain Dragon Well instead.