★★★★☆
Dragonwell tastes a bit like a mellow 'gunpowder' crossed with ti kuan yin. It's a little difficult to describe, but a great flavor nonetheless.
One of China's most famous teas, from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. Distinctive flattened leaf shape gives the tea an inviting, toasty aroma. Sweet rounded flavor, like freshly roasted white corn. Nutty, buttery texture, pleasantly dry finish.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Dragonwell, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
Dragonwell tastes a bit like a mellow 'gunpowder' crossed with ti kuan yin. It's a little difficult to describe, but a great flavor nonetheless.
I've been drinking a full thermos of this, almost every day for the past few months. It is neither too light nor overly earthy. It's just a really balanced and satisfying cup of tea.
This is quite simply an amazing tea, but you have to be careful to brew it exactly right, otherwise it will taste very astringent and you'll miss out on what this tea is really all about.
First of all, don't follow the directions for brewing that Adagio gives. Sorry, Adagio, but your directions for tea brewing almost always result in a tea that is way too astringent and strong.
I recommend brewing this tea in a gaiwan with about 1.5-2 teaspoons of leaves (this is just an estimate, I never actually measure the amount of leaves, I just eyeball it by instinct), then brew it with water at a temperature of 165F for 25-30 seconds for the first infusion after an initial rinse. For the second infusion, do it about like the first, and then increase the brewing time a bit for each subsequent infusion.
The taste is outrageously amazing. This is truly a top-tier green tea. It's very sweet and unique, hard to describe by analogy but I'll give it a shot: The undertaste (which is what this tea is really all about) is floral, not so much fruity, and very sweet. The overtaste is like hay. The taste is very much the archetypical and perfected green tea taste.
Interestingly, this is the type of tea that was given to Richard Nixon when he made his historic visit to China, so if it's the tea they chose to give a visiting head of state, you know it must be good stuff. Highly recommended, but only if you brew it exactly right, otherwise it is bitter and isn't at all a joy to drink.
This tea smells very nutty. And it has a faint taste of sesame. Its overall flavor is soft and subtle, without a lot of astringency. I'd say it's a good starter green tea.
This was my first experience with Dragonwell and I do think this is officially my favorite plain green tea. It takes a very short steeping time to get it perfect, but it won't go fully tannin-bitter if you have to step away and leave it for an extra minute or two.
Not my favorite green tea from Adagio, but enjoyable. Needs a bit more care steeping than your typical green.
This is my son's favorite tea. He would drink it everyday.
Classic green tea - not too strong, and has some delicate sweetness to it.
This was really lovely to drink, with a bright but gentle blend of scents and flavors. It's a sweet kind of spinachy vegetal, with a hint of spring blossoms and honey, just a bit fruity. The spinach comes out more on the second steep.
this tea is yummy and nutritious but i think I'm having trouble making it correctly. If anyone could help me it will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
karina
A refreshing, delicate green tea. I find dragonwell to be less grassy and more complex than sencha. It's taken me a little bit of time to get the steeping right. It takes a heaping teaspoon for an 8 oz cup (more for a bigger cup) to get the full flavor. It's not a tea to skimp on leaves with. That said, when I use ample leaves, I can get a good second steep with hotter water and longer steep time(195, 5 min).
Not my favorite green tea. It was a bit weak for me, but the flavor was still alright. I do prefer grassier greens, though.
I found the tea far too subtle at the recommended steeping values, but too expensive to double up on the amount of leaves used. Though I appreciate drinking tea for a subtle flavor, I'm also looking for a tea with a solid health punch to it - an overly weak green tea doesn't do the trick.
I will try it again, and try resteeping, for longer time periods and see if that improves the flavor.
After resteeping for 5 minutes: the subtlety of the tea remained, but the bitterness increased slightly. I do make tea in a jumbo cup (~12 ounces) which may explain the subtlety, but that's a subtlety that has worked perfectly with other teas. I will have to try this tea again with a boost in sample.
This is definitely my favorite! Very smooth, buttery and slightly sweet. My new everyday tea. Second and third steepings are the best.
Exactly what I was looking for. This is a perfect everyday green tea that doesn't break the bank. Earthy with sweetness at first and leaves your mouth feeling clean. Steeped the leaves twice and both pots of tea were perfect. I did steep the second pot for an extra minute. I will be setting up automatic delivery of this tea as soon as I figure out how much I will be drinking!
My favorite green tea!! I drink this almost everyday. Just wish it wasn't so pricy.
Dragonwell from Hangzhou Zhejijiang province in china should be light bright green almost yellow and produce a yellow green tea which this does not. Quality foe this tea is not there
one of my favorites! smooth buttery finish with hints of sweetness.
bit overly grassy and pungent on first taste, so it's not really my thing overall, though it's actually far milder than it smells and even a bit lemon-y. Not bad, but I've had better.
It took a while for dragonwell to really appeal to me but it is excellent. It has an intense green tea flavor without being 'grassy'. great afternoon tea.
I was somewhat disappointed with this. The flavor and color were too light for my tastes. It was not as fragrant as I hoped for.
Definitely a new favourite tea. I love the nuttiness and almost smoky earthiness in the beginning, that makes it quite soothing but the freshness at the end makes it nice throughout the day.
This is an amazing green tea that has held up over several years of my drinking it. efinitely a light taste, but without either the grassy brightness of the Japanese sencha-style teas or the tendency to bitterness of many hinese greens (gunmetals and the like). maybe more forgiving about brew time?
little hay, a little vegetal undertone, rich and complex and capable of a good second brew. Would appeal to many who think they don't like green teas, as well as those who already do but are looking for new varieties to try.
My favorite green tea! Waiting on the new season for the next batch.
Aromatic and flavorful, dragonwell has a nice clean, nutty flavor without being grassy or overly astringent. Great plain or with a little sweetener added, and is delicious either hot or cold.
The dry leaf scent was more robust than Chinese green teas and other Dragonwells (think Matcha) but it still brews up into a quite mellow and sweet liquor.
Good for green tea overall, but compared to other Dragonwells I've had, it just didn't measure up. Maybe I'll try it again next year, see if it's a better batch.
I have been unable to produce a good cup of tea with this variety. It might very well be just me but I am surprised considering its popularity. I have lowered temp, raised temp, increased and decreased the number of minutes etc and all I get is a bitter, grassy cup every time. I will keep trying to get it right but if this tea is going to always be this fussy for 'me' then I will probably move on to others that perform well for me easily.
This is one of the most satisfying and rich Green teas that I have enjoyed. The leaves are of excellent quality and you can taste it in every sip. This tea is more than worth the price as it is as complex, smooth, and enjoyable as a fine Chardonnay.
Really enjoy this green tea. I didn't think I would love it prior to drinking it, but it is actually one of my top favorites now!
Honestly I found it mediocre. Too mild and washed out tasting. Albeit good as a general tea, it lacked complexity.
A green tea with a special taste. Very full and fulfilling flavor.
loved the taste - recently switched to a non-inflamatory diet which inclules green teas - adagio has a great selection!
Lovely green tea with a great flavor without being grassy!
Dragonwell is my favorite green tea. A crisp, clean taste with a toasted, earthy flavor. I think Adagio's Dragonwell is a fine product and good value for your money.
Definitely a grassy flavor here, but not overpowering. I tried it with honey and it was quite good. :)
I ordered a sample of this tea by accident and now I'm addicted. I wish my favorite tea was a little cheaper but it is totally worth the price. Not easily over steeped and wonderful any time of day.
one of my favorite green teas. very light and it doesnt have a grassy taste like some green teas do. it blends really well with a few jasmine pearls
This tea is utterly flavorless. When you first open it, it smells faintly of grass and raisins. But even this is lost after steeping. Not recommended at all. I used honey with mine--it's better with sugar, but we had to use at least two and a half cups of sugar for the cups of tea.
Longjing teas have always been my go-to Chinese green tea. I love the lightly roasted, buttery flavor, which reminds me a little bit of a meadow, for some reason. This one from Adagio is one of the best I've tried from a vendor in the States. The price isn't the lowest, and there are other teas with comparable flavor profiles, like Pi Lo Chun, or even Green Pekoe, for lower cost. For me though, this dragonwell is a welcome addition to my tea stash and I find myself going back to it more often than many others.
I think this is fabulous, but I WILL say that it is not immediately what some people may expect from a green tea, maybe? It’s Chinese and nothing like the frothy sweet Japanese green teas
This dragonwell is kind of the epitome of this sort of green tea, and this is some fine dragonwell. I save it for times when I can savor it, generally rainy days of studying and working...
For all the wonderful reviews I've read and heard, I'm rather disappointed. Adagio described Dragonwell as 'Full, nutty and buttery texture and pleasantly dry finish,' but all cups in my sample came away tasting pretty grassy, nothing at all like the rich flavor I was expecting. Even so, it wasn't necessarily bad--I'll probably give this tea another chance in the future, in hopes it will live up to the description.
Very good green tea. I will definitely make this one of my frequent purchases. Also good iced (brew and then cool downn with ice).
Very light flavor. I sometimes mix it with goji berries for something different.
I really enjoyed this tea. I bought a sample to try it out and I will be adding it to my list of teas to reorder. Subtle buttery notes and sweetness, a smooth tea with different notes depending on steep length.
This is just a great tea. I put a bit of honey in it to take the edge off the astringency. It's has a wonderful, nutty flavor and has less of the 'grassy' taste alot of other (especially Japanese gree teas) have. Specifically Adagio's dragonwell comes in nice, large, intact leaves that make a wonderful cup (and then great fertilizer).
This is exactly what I look for in a green tea. A wonderful smooth flavor that I can relax to.
A good green, nothing too surprising though. Good flavor, slightly roasty with a hint of underlying sweetness and a small amount of astringency. Not my favorite green tea ever but still nice to try.
Nice green tea. Don't forget about it when you are brewing, because it will get bitter.