Yun Wu (Cloud Mist) teas are a generally made in the Mao Jian style, but are grown at high elevations where clouds and mist blanket the mountainsides. Teas grown in such environments tend to have a very clean, pure, tight, and crisp taste. I've included this tea with the Mao Jians, because for all intents and purposes it is one.
Compared to the other teas reviewed in this category, this tea has the smallest and most wiry dry leaf. The dry leaf smells quite fresh and is pleasantly aromatic. The wet leaf shows primarily leaf pieces from medium-small leaf with some whole medium and whole smaller leaf and a generous number of small buds. The liquor brews up a pale yellow-green and is aromatic, yet in a restrained sense (if that makes sense). It's a little grassy, slightly vegetal (spinach?), and a bit floral. In the mouth the tea comes across similarly, being a little grassy, a bit floral, somewhat sweet, and flavorful in a tight and pure way. Overall, it's balanced with a tendency toward astringency. The aftertaste is clean with a moderate intensity, and a light cleansing astringency that is followed by a tang that persists quite some time. You can get two very nice steepings from this tea, a third that is still fairly pure tasting, and a fourth that, while noticeably weaker, hasn't yet turned "dirty".
This is a very nice, flavorful tea with some finesse and a dose of high-mountain character. There are Mao Jian teas with somewhat more dimension and nuance, and others with more strength and body, but if you are looking for a fairly pure tasting Mao Jian at a very attractive price ($7.95 for 4oz.), give this one a try. Perhaps it's the large number of buds in the mix, or perhaps it's something else, but whatever, this one delivers a stimulant buzz. It wouldn't be my first choice for a bedtime drink.
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