Oh well! By the time I drank this tea, I only knew that it was green tea. Later I found out that it is from the Shandong Province, the most northern commercial tea production area in China. However, it is grown at a similar latitude to Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese teas. This tea can be picked in late Spring, unlike southern tea growing regions of China because of the latitude. Due to the climate, the leaves grow slowly and build up rich flavours.
When I tasted this tea with no clue, I thought it is an excellent tea, but I found its taste a little too rich for my liking. Considering that I am still learning how to appreciate green teas, I have to say I struggled. However, now as I know its history, I’d steep it differently (shorter steeps and also less tea), and I think I would have enjoyed it more.
I tasted vegetal (not grassy but more like spinach) notes, some floral aroma. I certainly tasted the roasty flavours. One of the tasting notes was chestnut, but I did not get.
In July 2020 Rizhao green tea was added to the list of Chinese geographical indicators by the Council of Europe. Interesting, I will find more about what other team are on the list.
This tea was a present from a friend who comes from Shandong and is very proud of this tea. I think she is right to be proud!
Tea Profile:
Type: Green
Origin: Rizhao, Shandong
Harvest time: Spring 2020
Leaf colour: Tones of green
Liquor colour: Bright yellow
Tea Aroma: Roasty, vegetal
Tea taste: Thick and rich with roasty vegetal notes with a slightly astringent finish (can be improved by shorter steeping as suggested below)
Steeping/brewing: Place 4 g tea leaves in 100 ml water at around 85°C. Steep for 5 seconds. To each consecutive infusion, add 3 seconds. You can infuse the leaves up to five times.