Tea notes: young hyson
Finally got some new tea containers and cleaned them, and am WFH this morning, so...time for another new tea! Young hyson is a Chinese green tea. I've only had it once before, from a bulk grocery place rather than a tea supplier; my guess was that it wasn't the best version of this tea, as it was rather meh. So i'm hopeful that today's version will be better.
On first opening the package, it smelled slightly roasted, which i find appealing. Because of the roasted scent, used about 3/4 teaspoon rather than full teaspoon. As usual, i'm starting with 180-degree water and multiple, short brew times.
First cup is a medium gold-brown color and the roasted scent has transformed into a lightly smoky flavor. Very mild and smooth Works well for my palate! At this point, though, i started looking at tasting notes from others and...wow, am i experiencing a completely different tea. It doesn't taste at all vegetal or bright-green to me. Instead, other than the smokiness, it's mostly just a generic "tea" sort of flavor.
On second brew the smoky flavor is still there, and still largely mild and smooth with only a faint hint of bitterness. Color leaning more brown than gold in appearance.
Third brew is still smooth but nearly generic in flavor, though can still smell a slight smokiness--it just doesn't hit my tongue at all. Kind of odd; might have mis-counted on the brew time and gone far too short.
In any case, this is definitely a much more interesting and flavorful version of young hyson than the first one from years ago. And it'll last me a while, as i'm not often in the mood for a smoky tea.