DuJun Mao Jian Tea

Since I did the Henan Xinyang Mao Jian, I figured to break out a little of the Dujun Mao Jian (都均毛尖) that three of my students bought for me in their home town of Guiyang in Guizhou Province where this tea originates. It is a bit different looking than the Xinyang Mao Jian with more silver, yellow and lighter green leaves. Weight wise they seem to be about the same.

Here you can see the silver very clearly and the green does not appear to be as dark as that of the other Mao Jians.

In this close up, one can see why this is called Mao Jian or Hairy Tips. If you look close enough you can see the tiny down-looking hair on many of the lighter leaves. There is a lot of tea in a pound of Mao Jian tea.

I followed pretty much what I did with the Xinyang Mao Jian, letting the boiled water cool for about two or three minutes before I steeped the tea. This Mao Jian does not seem to be as delicate and contrary as that of the Xinyang tea. No matter how much I used or how long it steeped (of course I did not let it steep too long), I tasted no bitterness at all. The liquor is not as sweet and interesting tasting as that of Xinyang Mao Jian but it is very, very good. The color is a bit more yellow and just as light. I still have a lot of this tea in the freezer and have taken some out to drink regularly. It is considered to be one of the top ten classic teas of China. This tea is in most of the top ten lists but in some, if it is not listed it probably would be number eleven. Xinyang Mao Jian is listed in all the top ten teas I have seen.

Here is a nice view of the little cup of Duhun Mao Jian resting peaceably on my tea tray along with the other things brought from China. This tea is supposed to be one of the three treasures of Guizhou. The other two are the Maotai (powerful alcoholic rocket fuel) liquor and Dafang lacquered ware.

My three treasures from Guizhou were Katherine, Craig and Grace. All were from Guiyang and they were some of the finest English students I have ever had. Craig, in particular, was a scholar beyond belief while Grace was the most sophisticated speaker of English in all of China. Katherine was just a sweetheart with excellent English skills and a quiet personality. We visited all three in their home town two years ago and had a fabulous time.