Yay a Korean tea review today! The tea is from Wooree tea, a New Zealand seller. Right now they just have tea ware and one tea – Imperial Blend Hadong Green tea.
Imperial Blend Hadong Green tea is grown in the Hadong region in the south west as per the website. Looking around, all I can find is a university of the same name and nothing on the map. Maybe the area is spelled differently in English?
Dry Leaf
Imperial Blend Hadong Green tea looks like twisted waves of dark green and has a sweet spinach and light roasted scent.
Steeping Instructions
The steeping instructions were 80c/175F water temperature for 3 to 4 minutes. I used 3 grams of tea and used my nice Korean infuser cup that I got from Hankook Tea.
Tasting of Wooree Tea’s Imperial Blend Hadong
The cup of Imperial Blend Hadong green tea smells like potent spinach tea, I am wondering at this point if I over steeped it. I smell the steeped leaf and it interestingly smells like popcorn and a hint of grass.
Imperial Blend Hadong green tea sips in with a thick and fluffy body. The notes are vegetal and of fresh and crisp bell pepper flesh, spinach and green beans. The finish is of light chestnut with a light astringency builds up after each sip. It is interesting how this tea smells much stronger than it tastes, as the intensity of the tea was on the light-moderate side.
Second Infusion: I went for 4 minutes here, but I think longer would of been more optimal. Imperial Blend Hadong green tea steeped up lighter and sweeter. The notes changed to fresh white corn and buttery steamed spinach. I liked the second steeping as it had a good balance of sweet and savory, with a thick texture makes you lick lips.
Comments
I found Wooree tea‘s Imperial Blend Hadong Green tea a solid green with a nice balance of flavors. I like how it has a really nice texture and the flavor is not too vegetal or corny, which you can get with Korean green teas. I find Korean greens are great if you aren’t into green teas too – they aren’t grassy like Japanese greens are, and more unique tasting with nutty and corn vegetal elements. Wooree Tea’s Imperial Blend Hadong Green tea would be a good place to start the Korean tea journey too!
(tea provided for review)
