A classic green tea from Zhejiang province, China. Gunpowder, as the name implies, is made up of leaves hand-rolled into tiny pellets. These resemble gunpowder, and give this tea its distinct name. Full-bodied cup with a hint of smokiness.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Gunpowder, 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.
Ordinarily, I go for sweeter, frillier teas-- especially flavored black teas. However, gunpowder is my personal favorite green, and this is an excellent one. It isn't pungent or bitter like many greens can be (even when steeped with utmost care). It speaks for itself.
I normally love gunpowder green - there is an earthiness to it that is normally appealing. This one didn't do it for me. It was almost too earthy. Definitely some good flavor to it but was missing something for me.
Wonderful basic green tea. Strong flavor. But it does burn easily
This is your basic everyday green tea. It’s on the cheaper end of the scale, but it’s just as impressive as any of its peers. Gunpowder is your red-canned, polar bear, Coca-Cola of greens.
My Go-To everyday green tea. Great value green tea
one of my favorite go to green teas- a smooth flavor that gets you up and moving for the day.
My go to Green Tea. I drink it for the health benefits and sometimes add a pinch of Forest Berries to up the flavor a bit.
This is a clean green tea. Not much of an aroma, but such a great color and finish.
I got this on a whim to get my free shipping and really enjoyed it. The rolled shape of the tea leaves is a nice breakfast conversation starter and the flavor is a cross between a oolong and sencha. Perfect for people who don't love black tea and find green tea to grassy.
Love this as an alternative to my normal cup of black coffee. It is not a grassy green and has its own bold taste.
Appearance: Light brown with a hint of green.
Aroma: Heavy lumber and walnut with some malt and a subtle smokiness. Malt and smokiness becomes more forward on the second steeping.
Taste: Mild malt at the front of the mouth. On the swallow starts as hay transitioning into wood. Light astringency and smokiness in the aftertaste. Second steeping gets heavier malt at first but otherwise very similar.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium bodied. Slight dryness in the mouth after swallow.
Overall: An enjoyable green tea. If you are not big on the grassiness of some green teas this one may be a better option for you. Smokiness is not overpowering though I do also enjoy a peaty scotch from time to time. A nice daily drinker since it is a good price point and has a bolder flavor to enjoy while working.
A rich and full-bodied flavor, almost like matcha. This tea has a nice smoky finish. I liked it more than I was expecting to.
Great tea for what it is. Has a stronger flavor for what I typically like in Green teas...But, the Japanese people I know seem to prefer that. The tightly rolled 'gunpowder' allows for more than a few cups per portion which being 'frugal' I like too.
Gunpower is definitely not a posterchild for complex refined flavor. But for the price it's a great buy. Nice rough and smokey flavor delivers a comforting cup for a very economical price.
This is a nice green tea. Mild and doesn’t require any sweetener.
I am surprised by how affordable this loose green tea is. It's exactly the flavor I want when I think of green tea. I couldn't help sticking my face in the bag and taking a deep breath when it arrived! And the rolled pellets look cool too! To make Moroccan mint tea I infuse dried spearmint for 7 minutes at 212 degrees then add it to a french press with gunpowder for another 5 minutes, strain, and serve with lots of white sugar. I wouldn't recommend the long-hot infusion unless you are willing to drink it super sweetened, but if you do it gets pretty close to real moroccan mint! (Real-real moroccan mint requires fresh mint, a special teapot, and skills I don't have).
A heavier green tea, a little dry but not bad of a tea
My morning cup of tea is my most precious. When it is not black tea, it is Gunpowder. Perfect!
This is the first unflavored, loose leaf green tea I’ve tried that I actually enjoyed. I’ll be ordering again!
Nice gunpowder, not overly smoky. Nothing special but it doesn't need to be, solid everyday Chinese green.
Bold flavor with a bit of smokiness. Great for any time of the day.
Love this tea. It’s a staple in our house. Every morning!
My favorite traditional tea. Smooth, clean taste.
I feel like it's a strong green tea on its own. However, we use it as a base when making teas flavored with herbals like, blood orange or strawberry.
update 4/24/20 After some time, I've become a fan of this tea. Not smoky, but a nice, balanced green blend.
I'm disappointed in this one. I chose it because of the promise of a smoky taste, and other teas with the word gunpowder in the name that I've had in tea salons have had that taste. This really doesn't. It's so mild as to be almost tasteless. I brewed carefully to the specifications, then tried steeping longer to see if I could get more taste out of it. Not really. Probably the
lapsang soughing would be more what I was after.
Update: after a couple of weeks, this tea is growing on me. Again, it doesn't have the 'smoky' taste I was looking for, but when I brew it using about 50 percent more tea leaves than suggested I find I do enjoy the taste. Adding another star.
It's gunpowder tea, but I feel like the quality of it isn't up to par as it has been with other sources I've enjoyed.
I liked the tea, it's a slightly strong green tea in my opinion. But it has a smokey smell which I wasn't a fan of. Will probably not reorder
My favorite way to start the day. I love it combined with a bit of spearmint.
perfect base green tea can easily make your own brew!
nice clean green tea. not grassy or bitter. i love watching the leaves unfold as it brews too. bought bc it was in other blends i like and was not disappointed.
Great green tea taste without too much bitterness. I make it in heated almond milk rather than water for a different consistency
Gunpowder tea has been my go-to green tea for 15 years, and adagio’s is the best I’ve ever had.
This is easily my favorite green tea! Don't let the name scare you!
Love green tea. This is one my favorites. Have it every morning.
The gunpowder isn't very complex, but it has a nice grassy taste. It tastes like spring!
I love this gunpowder tea. It s strong but smooth, not diluted and definitely a treat every time you have a cup.
I don't know if I just received a subpar batch, but this tea is frankly flavorless and doesn't even taste a green tea. I was expecting the usual vegetative taste that I've come to know in Chinese greens, but with a hint of smokiness. Sort of like a green with some lapsang souchong-esque notes. It honestly tastes more like a black Indian or Sri Lankan tea than a proper Chinese green. I can sometimes get a more flavorful cup with a second steep, but this is not a green I care for at all. If you do get this though, don't steep it as you would a normal green. These leaves seem to prefer warmer water to really open up and give (the little) flavor that they have, and require a minute more of steeping than other greens.
A basic green tea, but really excellent - easy to brew and to sip on.
We got this and 'Sleeping Dragon'. We had tasted both in the store and really liked both, but at home we decided sleeping dragon was the better tea. This is still very good.
My all time favorite tea! I don't usually add any sweetener to this one, and when brewed properly is heavenly! Goes great with some lemon slices and fresh ginger for a little spice.
Cheap but good. My go-to green tea when I want something simple.
A fantastic green tea. Was my mother's favorite when I was growing up and I didn't appreciate it then, but I do now!
Fantastic afternoon pickup tea. Great taste and refreshing!
good tea. 39 character left to qualify. now 4. now over the threshold (and under the limit).
My favorite green. Second and third steepings as good as first.
This is an excellent warm cup through the day tea and also one to make for someone who says that they don't like green tea (after only trying the cheap bags at the grocery)
All these teas a great but the Gun Powder is my favorite
Not as light as a green tea, and not as bitter as a black. Great balance, tasty flavor.
I've tried about 4 cups of this already and each cup just taste like dirt to me. I even tried a pre-rinse technique to many lighten it up and it still had the same taste. Unfortunately this one is a pass for me and I don't think I'm a fan of the smokiness.
Gunpowder has been a staple of mine. It is my go to green tea, and Adagio's gunpowder is pretty good.