If you want to learn more about tea, spend a week studying one specific variety. That’s what I’ve been doing this week with mao feng green teas, and it’s what I did in early March with ti kuan yin oolong teas. Both times, it has been rewarding to focus in one variety, sampling similar teas from different merchants. It’s a journey of small discoveries.

Today’s small discovery is this: Mao feng is not a very aromatic tea. It shares this characteristic with most Chinese green teas, but mao feng is particularly light in the nose. Mao Feng Reserve from Teas Etc, has a mildly sweet aroma hinting at chocolate or sweet corn, but you’ll barely detect it.

As with the mao feng from Oriental Tea House, this mao feng consists of long, wiry leaves twisted into thin spears. There are a few pairs, but not as many as in Life in Teacup’s mao feng.

I decided to make this mao feng in a gaiwan, with a higher leaf to water ratio and a slightly shorter steeping time. With the previous two mao fengs, I opted for a larger teapot (a 2-person pot) with about a teaspoon and a half of leaf. The teas turned out well, but they required a longer steeping of about three minutes, and couldn’t handle much more than two infusions. Using the gaiwan and more leaf has let me get three solid steepings already, and I think I’ll be able to extract a pretty good fourth steeping as well.

What struck me on first tasting this tea is how much bolder its flavour is in comparison with the previous two mao fengs I reviewed. It bursts with vegetal flavours ? think green beans and bok choy. There’s a sweetness, the kind you get from stir-fried vegetables. It makes for pleasant, easy-going drinking.

Mao Feng Reserve is available from Teas Etc.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2010. | Mao Feng Reserve from Teas Etc | 2 comments |
Post categories: Green tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: Mao Feng, Teas Etc

Huangshan Mao Feng has the special distinction of being of China’s famous Tribute Teas, teas which were hand-picked by Chinese emperors to become their tea of choice.

Huangshan is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province, and as such, Huangshan Mao Feng is a location-specific tea. Mao feng is produced elsewhere (I will be reviewing one from Zhejiang Province later this week), but Huangshan Mao Feng can be considered the heartland of mao feng teas.

Huang Shan Mao Feng from Life in Teacup

Life in Teacup’s mao feng (received as a free sample) is markedly different to that of Oriental Tea House. The latter was characterized by long, spindly leaves twisted into curling shapes, while today’s mao feng features much smaller leaves. There are also many more pairs, suggesting that this might be a truer example of the mao feng variety.

The most surprising aspect of this tea is its similarity to genmaicha. While it is much lighter in flavour, and is not astringent in the least, it has a mild roasted flavour that reminded Bec and I of the Japanese green. But it also has a sweetness – a nutty, gentle sweetness – that was absent in the mao feng from Oriental Tea House.

As with yesterday’s mao feng, the character of Life in Teacup’s mao feng is light and mild ? the word “serene” comes to mind. One to drink and be still with.

You can get 2010 pre-Qingming Huang Shan Mao Feng from Life in Teacup. Browse more tea from Life in Teacup in the Marketplace.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2010. | Huangshan Mao Feng from Life in Teacup | No comment |
Post categories: Green tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: Life in Teacup, Mao Feng

Oriental Tea House is one of the finer establishments for tea lovers in Melbourne. I’ve eaten there a few times now, and have usually spent more than I’d intended, thanks to the trappings of yum cha. One minute you’re sitting there with a wallet full of cash, then they tempt you with some alluring peking duck, and before you know it, you’re back at the ATM pulling out more cash so you can buy a train ticket home. But man, that peking duck was tasty!

Their tea is pretty good, too, though I would recommend sticking to their Chinese teas. I bought their Earl Grey and was sorely disappointed. But I have enjoyed their lapsang souchong, their longjing, and now, their mao feng.

Mao feng is a green tea made from leaves plucked during the early harvest. A pair of small leaves and a bud – the finest picking – is used for mao feng.

Oriental Tea House’s mao feng has a dry aroma of white chocolate. Funny that, considering the almost complete lack of sweetness in the tea’s flavour ? but such are the curiosities of tea. It infuses into a pale green liquor with a gentle, warming character. It has none of the verbosity of oolongs or black teas, and even in the realm of green tea it makes a mellow cup. It’s a humble tea.

The flavour is savoury, with notes of Chinese greens like bok choy and a subtle suggestion of sweet potato. Unfortunately, it also strikes me as somewhat washed-out, as if the tea has lost some of its finer flavours since it was harvested. Certainly, this tea doesn’t strike me as fresh ? but then freshness is a rare thing to come by in tea bought from shops in Melbourne.

Mao feng is available from Oriental Tea House.

I will be reviewing a series of other mao feng teas over the coming days, including Life in Teacup’s Huang Shan Mao Feng, Teas Etc’s Mao Feng and Narien Teas’ Zhejiang Mao Feng (which I am revisiting, after I reviewed it last year).

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2010. | Mao Feng from Oriental Tea House | 4 comments |
Post categories: Green tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: Mao Feng, Oriental Tea House

I wrote these thoughts about Narien Teas’ Zhejiang Mao Feng one morning two weeks ago. Later that day, my wife went into labour. Here, belatedly, is my review of this lovely tea.

I started this day not, as I usually do, with a cup of strong black tea, but with a light cup of Zhejiang Mao Feng. With the morning sun streaming in, this wonderful green tea from China helped shape the perfect start to the day.

I have Billy from Narien Teas to thank for this tea, which filled me with its warmth and restfulness. It toyed with my senses. A dry aroma of cabbage washes into a bouquet of strawberry and grape once the tea is infused. Later, I smell grass and vegetables. Mao Feng is light but playful, understated in its gracefulness. Its colour is a pale golden green; its flavour dominated by leafy green vegetables.

Southern Zhejiang, in eastern China, is a rugged and beautiful part of China. Zhejiang’s most famous contribution to the world of tea is Longjing, or Dragonwell, which comes from the northwestern region of Hangzhou. Mao Feng itself is a particular style of tea made from a bud and two leaves of equal length. Once processed, they are spindly – long, narrow and sword-like in appearance.

Zhejiang Mao Feng is available from Narien for $13 for 4 oz. Narien offer free shipping for orders over $50. Tea Finely Brewed also get a 10% discount on any purchase from Narien: just quote teafinelybrewed.

© eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Zhejiang Mao Feng | No comment |
Post categories: Green tea, Tea reviews
Post tags: chinese teas, Mao Feng, Narien Teas, Zhejiang Province