Dragon Pearl Tea: Premium Green Tea
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
I’m finishing up the last of a Magic Dragon Tea Sampler from Dragon Pearl. The sample set included a hidden dragon steeping cup, a white tea, a jasmine pearl green tea, the green tea I’m about to discuss, and a few other goodies. Check out this set on Dragon Pearl’s website. The large tea containers are shipped with the tea sealed in a foil bag to keep the tea extra fresh during shipping. When you are ready to start drinking the tea, you can break the seal on the foil bag and store the tea where ever you would like. I used the containers provided within the tea set. I had a plan on how I wanted to drink the tea in this set. I started off with the jasmine pearl tea, which I absolutely could not drink enough of. Next, I started to drink the white tea. The white tea was very relaxing with its natural freshness and mellow flavors. Now, I’ve had several cups of this delicious (grade 1) Mao Feng. It turned out to be a good plan. All the teas were excellent, but I like ending my reviews with a solid green tea.
Dragon Pearl’s premium green tea is everything I like about green tea. It’s affordable, it’s flavorful, and it’s fresh. A lot of teas have a reputation for having an extreme or dominant characteristic about its flavor or scent. The Mao Feng is just simply delicious. The tea is described by Dragon Pearl as hearty, rich, and nutty. I have to agree. The scent of the dried tea is very crisp and natural. I imagine that I’m standing in the Fujian Mountains after a fresh rainfall when I smell this tea. The tea leaves really come to life during the steeping process. The bright green color of the leaves is revealed as the tea steeps. This is a great green tea to have around when you just want to enjoy tea and life. If you are a green tea lover or you want to try green tea for the first time, this is a great choice.
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A couple of months ago, I read an article by James Norwood Pratt that was published in “Fresh Cup” magazine (May 2007). Mr. Pratt mentioned that white tea coming to America would have been difficult to predict. He references John Frederick Walter’s “Book of Coffee & Tea,” defined in the 1990s, referring to white tea as a “tasteless leaf of no commercial importance.” I found James Norwood Pratt’s article to be very interesting. More importantly for the tea industry, white tea did gain in popularity regardless of what was said in the early 90s.
Let’s take a journey to the Fujian Mountains for an exceptional green tea lightly infused with jasmine. Well, let’s pretend for a minute…I was really curious to try this tea. I wanted to know how the green tea and jasmine paired together. Let me tell you, this tea is awesome. The jasmine flavoring adds a sweet floral flavor to the green tea. If that sounds good to you, you will love this tea. The flavors of the green tea and jasmine blend for a perfect cup. As 
you can see, the tea is hand-rolled into a pearl shaped pellet. Not only does this tea taste great, it has a unique shape that adds to the presentation of the tea for your guests or customers. The flavor is so delightful, it’s sure to raise some eyebrows. Check out the before and after pictures of this tea. The top picture shows the dry tea in its pearl shape. The bottom picture shows the green tea leaves after it was brewed. As you can see, it really expands during the steeping process. The recommended brewing time is 2-4 minutes in 190 degree water. Feel free to steep the tea multiple times. This tea really is a treat from start to finish. I was floored by the flavor and freshness in every brew.