Emei Mao Jian does not look anything like the Zhuyeqing we have been drinking nor the Xue Ya we just discovered. The leaves are different sizes and have funny bits of hair on them. They are also dried differently. Both the Zuyeqing and the Xueya are uniform in appearance and maintain their tea leaf appearance. As you can see from this, the leaves are distorted, curled with no uniformity in either color or shape.
If you look closely, you can see the hair on the underside of each of the leaves. I guess that is the reason it is called Mao Jian, right?
Beautiful light green and orange color. A beautiful cup of tea. How does it taste? At first, it was totally different than the Zhuyeqing with a different taste and aroma. As I drank it, though, I got the distinct feeling that is did have an up front taste of slight bitterness and the familiar sweetness in the aftertaste. Very similar "feeling" that I had with the Xueya. All three green teas are great teas.
I cannot say enough good things about Emei Shan green teas. They are special. If I had to rank the four green teas we have had thus far, my favorite would have to be the Xueya. Wow, is it magnificent. Of course, the famous Zhuyeqing is close behind followed by the Mao Jian. The Emei Shan Mao Feng would then follow the Mao Jian. The Mao Feng, though, IMHO, does not so neatly fit in with the first three. It is a different taste altogether and if there is such a thing as a "family of teas" based on tastes, Mao Feng would probably be a cousin not a brother or sister.
The main difference in these four Emei green teas would have to be price. Zuyeqing and Xueya are relatively expensive. The least expensive is the Mao Feng. We tend to drink it as our daily tea because of its pricing and value. No doubt that after today, we will be drinking a lot of the newly discovered Mao Jian, which almost matches the pricing of the Mao Feng. Living in the shadow of Emei Shan does have its benefits.
3 comments:
I found your blog today after reading the Half-Dipper's latest entry and I found yours to be newly refreshing and informative. I've gone through a lot of your entries and noticed your drank some of the mini-tuochas at some point. I met MarshalN, the young Chinese historian, by chance at The Tea Gallery in New York and in our brief discussion, the minis came up. He is wary of them, could be leftovers from production of the bigger cakes and full of dust, etc. Will continue enjoying your entries as you put them forth. Eileen
Yes! They are full of dust as I mentioned. The taste seems to be rather bland. This was the first we had tasted since we were introduced to pu'erh in Yunnan last summer. We bought pu'erh for looks and not to drink.
I have noticed some cakes in the bigger department store that sell for 58 Yuan (around $8). I have a lot more research to do before I start buying pu'erh. There is a new "tea street" in Chengdu we will visit next month.
Too many teas around here and very difficult to understand the names and what they are. It is fun though!
Emei Shan a mountain that rises from earth at a height of approximately 3,099 m. This is most heighten mountain from the Four scared Buddhist Mountains. Mount Emei Sunrise and Cloud Sea is the most tourist attraction place.There are almost thirty old temples located on Emei Shan. People come here with messed up mind but then go with the open mind.
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