
Meng Ding Gan Lu is a personal favorite because it's a tea that usually has a strong aroma, and the flavor is fairly deep and sweet. The one from teaspring is no exception. It has a deep sweet flavor that seems to coat the tongue. A slight toastiness gives it a very subtle caramelized sugar flavor. The aroma of the dry leaves as I poured water in suggested a hint of smoke, but that's absent from the brewed tea.
Huo Shan Huang Ya is a yellow that I remember enjoying once, so I decided to give it another try. It's very similar to what I remember. It's a more roasted tea, especially for a tea as close to green tea as this. The roastiness is similar to a beany longjing. For what it is, it's a very enjoyable tea, though a bit one dimensional, and I still can't taste what makes yellow tea different from green tea. **emphasizes that it is enjoyable**
Yang Yan Gou Qing is a tea I've only ever seen on teaspring, and one that I can't pass up on when it comes out fresh. From what I remember, it has consistently been the most full flavored green out of all the teas I had at the time. Though first time I brewed it again, I was afraid that this year was not a good year for this tea because it was lackluster. When I brewed it again, I used more leaf, and was pleasantly surprised that it was just bad brewing initially. This one may actually be similar to green tieguanyin. The texture is very thick, and it tastes slightly buttery. However, The buttery flavor isn't overpowering like in a tieguanyin. It also has a strong vegetal flavor balances it out.
Wuyi Qu Hao is a tea I believe I tried once before because I was intrigued by the idea of a green from Wuyi. I also remember having higher hopes for it (perhaps because yancha come from Wuyi) but it was just an average green tea. My first attempt brewing this years qu hao solidified this idea. It seemed a touch bitter, and was strongly piney, and slightly smokey. Brewing it again at least showed how enjoyable it could be. It's still piney and smokey, but a sweeter green flavor came out too, giving it more balance.
This may be my first tea order where I haven't had one bad tea. I imagine I'll even be eager to brew the dust of these teas.
I also ordered some yancha from teaspring, but I feel it's too early to write serious tasting notes. Both are about two years old, and seem to have been re-roasted recently. It seems like it was re-roasted well, but the recent roast seems to overpower any tea flavor.