冬の西湖龍井緑茶

This is one of my favourite green teas to drink during the morning. The first two-three gong fu infusions are delicate, with a clear nutty character, supported by vegetal and creamy notes. They feel slightly drying and just barely astringent, in a pleasant way. In the following infusions, the tea keeps its creamy character but gradually loses the nutty flavour and other vegetal notes that make it distinctive, lasting up to 4–5 infusions. It’s a tea I especially enjoy in the morning after breakfast—easy to drink, comforting, and very satisfying.

Brewing: 5g/100ml, 80°C, 15s, +5s.

Dry leaves smell like hay, zucchini and roasted hazelnuts. When wet, a camphor note appears and the chlorophyll note turns towards boiled spinach.

The liquor blends delicate green vegetables with strong hazelnut umami, in a very satisfying way.

The overall impression is of maturity, depth and gravitas - rather unusual for a green tea, but it's a pleasant surprise. The aftertaste is particularly interesting and somewhat melancholic. Maybe because longjing was the first type of Chinese tea I fell in love with.