Saturday, August 2, 2008

2008 Jookro Ujeon Hwagae Valley Green Tea


This tea was hand pick and processed on Jiri Mountain and it came from one of the first companies to start selling wild tea in Korea. The experience with this tea is as follows...


As one cuts open this pack of tea, the smell of the small spring dry leaves fill the air. Sweet roasted honey, mild spiciness, the smell of the wind in the pines. The aroma is deep and so that is the way ones takes it in.

As one mindfully pours warm water into the cooling bowl then from cooling bowl onto the dry leaves resting in the shallow of the tea pot, the sound of water softly streaming into the pot breaks the morning silence. Soft, natural, and calming the sound of water dripping on the leaves in the hallow of a tea pot imitates the water of a fresh mountain spring rushing over clay, rock, and earth. The sound is deep and so that is the way one takes it in.


As one lifts the tea cup towards one's lips and spills tea gently into ones mouth, the taste of this tea fills one's taste buds. It's roasted sweetness could easily be confused for a pre-qingmin long jin, yet it's more spicy, woody, and creamy than a Chinese tea. These characteristics truly define a good Jiri Mountain green tea. The taste of these flavours is deep and so that is the way one takes it in.

As one sips and swallows this tea, the feel of this tea in the mouth lightly coats one's tongue. As the tea session stretches along the mouthfeel mimics the taste of the tea. The tongue feels creamy completing this sensation. The tongue feels astringent completing the sensation of spicy. The tongue feels dry completing the sensation of woody. The feel of these sensations is deep and so that is the way one takes it in.


As the wet leaves are dumped out, the session over, the look of the wet leaves makes one smile. These leaves are bright, vibrant. Some still unraveled, the youngest stalks of spring. The sight of such young healthful leaves is deep and so that is the way one takes it in.

Peace

7 comments:

Soïwatter said...

Your last posts make me wanna try korean tea, what is barely possible in France.
One of my korean coworker just came back from Korea last week. If I had decovered your blog before, I'm sure I'd have weight her luggage down with some precious leaves. And it makes me dream for a business trip in Busan..

Salsero said...

My only hope is that this tea couldn't possibly be as good as you make it sound!

Thanks for another great post. It's a whole experience rather than just a read.

Matt said...

Soiwatter,

One must experience the experience of Korean green tea. If you get a chance, try some. Nice seeing you here and best of luck at tracking down Korean tea in France.

Sal,

I assure you, it's quite good. As always it's nice hearing from you.

Peace

Anonymous said...

nice to read about Korean tea. Tried to get it from their web page but impossible to order. Do you ahve any idea how to order from them? Thanks in advance. Martin spimar75(at)yahoo(dot)com

Matt said...

Martin,

Just sent you an email.

Peace

T.alain said...

One of the best green tea i ever drink...

Matt said...

Alain,

The sample you tried was a grade lower (saejak grade) but more full bodied.

All the top Jookro greens taste very similar in taste. All nice teas.

Glad you are enjoying your samples.

Peace