On to the final review of the Garden to Cup release from DAVIDsTEA, Mao Jian Jade and then we are taking a break from the many David’s Tea reviews lately to look at some other companies since I am not a huge fan of the fall release. Mao Jian Jade is a plain green tea from China’s Fujian province and promises a sweet vegetal flavour with sweet corn and steamed vegetables for a lively mouthfeel. Since Mao Jian teas are sweeter, they are generally a good place to start for green teas and at $9.98 per 50g, well priced too.
Mao Jian Jade Ingredients & Steeping Instructions
Ingredients: Pan-fired green tea from the Fujian province.
Steeping Instructions: 1-2 perfect spoons per 16oz hot (167℉ – 176℉ or 75℃ – 80℃) water for 2-3 minutes.
I always steep green teas at the lower end of the recommended times and found this to taste great after only 90 seconds. It does not seem to become too astringent when left for longer through and even at 2.5 mins had a sweet smooth taste but definitely more vegetal and less sweet than at 90 seconds.
Mao Jian Jade was the one I was least excited about when I picked up the Garden to Cup collection on the release day. It has been a while since I found a decent green tea that does not become too astringent quickly and has a smoother buttery taste like the one I drank growing up but have no clue what tea it was. While you do get a definite green tea taste to Mao Jian Jade, I love the smooth buttery sweetcorn taste of it and it would probably become my go-to straight green if it was not limited edition.