Snow Dragon (Green Tea)

While I was still working on two reviews for different sets of samples, the Half-Dipper and Lochan Teas' (I'll have the former posted in the next few days and I'm still actively working on the latter), I decided to wrap up a late night with a little Snow Dragon, and felt inspired to write.

This is Snow Dragon green tea from TeaCuppa.

(I got a better camera, can you tell?)

As you can see from the pictures, this one is entirely composed of white tips. True to it's looks, it almost tastes like a white tea, although it does have a more green profile than most white teas. It is considered a green tea, however, which is indeed more true to the tea, even if only slightly so.

I had nearly forgotten about this one; it is very nice. It's quite light and sweet, enough so that adding any sweetener would ruin it. The aroma is crisp and vegetal. The taste is also crisp and vegetal, with a hint of something floral and fruity, but in a subdued and elusive way. The white down from the buds are quite noticeable, making it quite smooth and soft. The taste actually reminds me quite a bit of Snow Bud, but a bit more pointed, green, and thinner. The lack of viscosity is, however, made up for with the downy hairs. What really sets this one apart, however, is the aftertaste. It leaves a clean dryness that is not at all unpleasant, but actually stimulates the mouth to water, which produces a wonderfully sweet flavor.

It reminds me of being in a meadow after a warm spring rain, when the air is clean and it's neither too hot nor too cold. The overall experience of this tea is well defined as being clean and pure. It's also a rather forgiving tea. I have yet to brew a bitter cup of this, although sometimes it has left my mouth and throat a bit dryer than I would like after the aftertaste fades.

Overall this is one to keep around, and makes an excellent nighttime tea. I could see this one as an after-dinner tea as well. I very much like this one, however those that find white teas to be too 'bland' may not like it. If you want something that's half way in between a white and green tea, however, you can't go wrong with this.