Capital's China Green, Chun Mee
Alan M Liebschutz
the shape of the hand-rolled processed tea gives
this Chinese name, "Chun Mee" or "Precious Eyebrows"
to this tea.
Vendor - Capital Teas <http://www.capitaltea.com>
(Sample provided by vendor for review)
Water - Crystal Geyser natural alpine water bottled at the
source, California, Sierra Nevada Mts.
Dry leaf - Shape of thin "plucked eyebrows". Fragrance is
spicy; color of leaves are both light and dark green.
Wet leaf - Mixed-sized, cut leaf, olive green with tinges of
lighter yellow-green.
Brewing method - 2 Guywans (one for steeping, pour liquor
into second) , chop with lid during steep
to provide mixing, lid never completely
closed. Hot water poured on inside edge of
heated guywan, not on leaf.
Vendor Recommendation - 80 C (176 F), 3 min.
Sample 1 - 80 C(176 F), 3 g/ 6 oz of water
Steep 1 of sample 1 - 2 1/2 min
Color - Pale yellow amber.
Aroma - Light sweet floral.
Taste - Complex, sweet, smooth.
Steep 2 of sample 1 - 3 min
Color - Golden yellow amber.
Aroma - Wonderfully complex, sweet, exotic.
Taste - Enhanced sweet, fruity, complex,with a note of spice..
A wonderfully meditative tea.
Aftertaste - Lingering exotic, sweet.
Steep 3 of sample 1 - 3 1/2 min.
Color - Golden yellow amber.
Aroma - Complex, light sweet.
Taste - Fruity sweet, complex, smooth, refreshing.
Sample 2 - 3.0 g / 6 oz of water.
Steep 1 of sample 2 - 3.0 min,, 85 C.(185 F)
Color - Medium amber.
Aroma - Light sweet.
Taste - Light sweet, light bitter.
Steep 2 of sample 2 - 3 min., 80 C.
Color - Golden amber.
Aroma - Wonderfully pungent, flavorful, fruity sweet.
Taste - Complex, smooth, fruity.
Sample 3 - 2.5 g (1 tsp)/ 6 oz, 80 C (176 F)
Steep 1 of sample 3 - 2 1/2 min.
Color - Medium amber.
Aroma - Light sweet, floral.
Taste - Delicate complex, smooth, light fruity, spicy.
Steep 2 - 3 min.
Color - Light yellow amber.
Aroma - Sweet, exotic.
Taste - Light body, flavorful, spicy, smooth.
Conclusions:
1. At 80 C, 3g/ 6 oz of water, 3 min.,the aroma is
wonderfully complex, sweet, and exotic; the taste
is enhanced sweet, fruity, complex, with a note of
spice. A wonderfully meditative tea. The aftertaste
is lingering exotic, sweet.
An excellent cup.
2. Raising the brewing temperature to 85 C, reduces the
aroma to light sweet, and introduces a hint of bitterness
in the taste.
3. At 80 C, reducing the leaf to 2.5 g/ 6 oz, 3 min.,
the aroma is sweet and exotic; the taste is light body,
flavorful, spicy, and smooth.
Still a good cup; but more delicate than the first sample
with more leaf.
Alan M Liebschutz
Anodyne
aml...@internetconnect.net (Alan M Liebschutz) writes:
>1. At 80 C, 3g/ 6 oz of water, 3 min.,the aroma is
> wonderfully complex, sweet, and exotic; the taste
> is enhanced sweet, fruity, complex, with a note of
> spice. A wonderfully meditative tea. The aftertaste
> is lingering exotic, sweet.
> An excellent cup.
>
>
> 2. Raising the brewing temperature to 85 C, reduces the
> aroma to light sweet, and introduces a hint of bitterness
> in the taste.
>
> 3. At 80 C, reducing the leaf to 2.5 g/ 6 oz, 3 min.,
> the aroma is sweet and exotic; the taste is light body,
> flavorful, spicy, and smooth.
> Still a good cup; but more delicate than the first sample
> with more leaf.
Chun Mee teas, in the past, have just not excited me too much. Have had them
from various sources. At the brewing specs above (but with well water filtered
thru Brita in lieu of Alan's bottled Crystal Geiser), my cup shows mild
aroma--that light and sweet slightly green/fruity note. Cup has an edge of
astringency with a not quite ripe fruity note (perhaps that fabled "plum" taste
associated with Chun Mee?). I have retried the tea now at slightly cooler
water temp, somewhere between 73-75C and only steeped two minutes, 3 grams of
leaf in 6 ounce gaiwan. This worked better for me, adding much to the aroma
compared to my using Alan's specs above. This decidedly improved the taste for
my cup, taking the astringency down and some of the edge of green off the
sweet-not-quite-ripe plum taste. The aroma of this Chun Mee is nicer than ones
I've had in the past, some of which exhibited harsh smoky notes that totally
obscured anything else. This one allows a nice touch of spice to come thru in
aroma. I find the aftertaste not really sweet, but more "just shy of ripe green
plum fruit."
Looking back at past notes, I find that Chun Mee has exhibited a lot of smoky
notes and a more raw "green" edge from other vendors. I also see a "less is
more" warning," (at least in relation to the ones I had before from diff
vendors) so have rebrewed this one with a touch less leaf, 2.6 grams with water
72-74C and 2 minutes steeping. Much more aromatics than I got at the 80C
steeping, spicy and green fruity/sweet. Even less taste of "green" in cup and
less green plum in finish, tho' I'd still not characterize the finish as
"lingering" or "sweet." I do enjoy the way the aroma gains spicy notes as it
cools. I find the "lingering sweet" to be part of the aromatics, but not really
part of the taste. And, here we have a bit of Japanese green yokan to go with
the last cup. Rather nice.
So this particular Chun Mee (www.capitatea.com) is an improvement over my past
experiences. The empty gaiwan is very fragrant here, with distinct spice notes.
Very nice.
Holly L. Hatfield-Busk
ph...@mailbox.bellatlantic.net
I also see a "less is more" warning,"
> Holly L. Hatfield-Busk
Big issue for me. The big-leafed, well-rolled teas
(amber oolong, Buddha's Palm green) are easy to
overdose on. I need to use VERY little, even for
gungfu, and I keep forgetting. When I do it right, it
works. Otherwise I'm drinking spinach. Perhaps because
there's a lot more leaf there than meets the eye, as it
is very tightly rolled. Takes at least four, and maybe
five gaiwans to completely unfurl!
Phebe