Du Yun Mao Jian都匀毛尖

Du Yun Mao Jian is a Mao Jian green tea from Duyun, Guizhou, China. Brew it at 80°C with 3g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 5 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. No rinse needed.

Tasting notes

Du Yun is what Mao Jian tastes like when it's not trying to impress you with umami — where Xin Yang goes thick and broth-heavy, Du Yun stays thin, bright, and floral-leaning. The liquor is almost transparent, pale yellow with a greenish tilt, and the first sip gives you grass and sugar before a faint chestnut note arrives at the back. There's a small window of astringency in the middle of the palate that some drinkers like and some don't; it's mild, and it turns sweet if you let it sit. The tea lives or dies at the water temperature. Eighty is right; eighty-five is borderline; anything above ninety and you lose the floral lift entirely and get a grassy scrape that sticks around. Keep early steeps under twenty-five seconds. By the fourth infusion the fine buds have given up most of what they have — a fifth is honest, a sixth is optimistic.

Flavor profile

A fine-boned green tea with a clean, sweet opening and a lingering chestnut-like finish. The liquor is bright and clear with a fresh vegetal quality and gentle astringency that resolves into sweetness. Less umami-forward than its Henan cousin Xin Yang Mao Jian, leaning more toward clean sweetness and floral lift.

Terroir

High-altitude karst mountains (~1000m), subtropical humid climate, mineral-rich soil

Cultivar: Local small-leaf Guizhou cultivar

Brewing

1. Steep 1: 20 seconds
2. Steep 2: 20 seconds
3. Steep 3: 30 seconds
4. Steep 4: 40 seconds
5. Steep 5: 50 seconds

Use glass or porcelain. Lower temperature preserves the delicate sweetness — water above 85°C can turn the brew grassy and bitter.

Aroma & taste

Processing

• pan-fired
• hand-rolled

Sources

• https://www.teasenz.com/du-yun-mao-jian-green-tea
• https://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p1158-du-yun-mao-jian.html
• https://www.imperialtea.com/products/duyun-mao-jian-green-tea
• https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/du-yun-mao-jian/2328