Enshi Yu Lu
China’s best-known steamed green tea, from Hubei, and a survivor of a method that was standard in China before pan-firing displaced it and that Japan then adopted and kept. It tastes recognisably closer to sencha than to Longjing, which makes it a genuinely useful comparison tea.
Character
Marine and savoury like a Japanese tea, with a chestnut sweetness underneath that is unmistakably Chinese. The best single tea for demonstrating that steam-versus-pan matters more than country.
- Flavour
- Umami, Vegetal, Nutty, Sweet
- Aroma
- Marine, Fresh
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Silky
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- sweet seaweed, steamed greens, chestnut, cream
- Aftertaste
- Savoury and sweet, with a clean finish.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Oxidation
- Unoxidised
- Harvest
- First flush
- Processing
- Steaming (Japanese fixation) → Rolling and shaping → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 70–80 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
3–4 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 4 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Sencha
Both are steamed rather than pan-fired, which puts them closer to each other than either is to a Chinese pan-fired green.
- Kabusecha
Both steamed, both savoury, and the clearest pair for showing that steaming rather than country drives the profile.
- Yu Lu supreme grade
The standard and top grades of the same tea. Both are steamed Chinese green tea, which is rare enough that the grade distinction is less interesting than the category.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Chumushi sencha
Shares 6 descriptors with Enshi Yu Lu: vegetal, umami, medium, silky, marine and fresh.
- Kagoshima sencha
Shares 6 descriptors with Enshi Yu Lu: vegetal, sweet, medium, silky, fresh and marine.
- Matcha usucha grade
Shares 6 descriptors with Enshi Yu Lu: umami, vegetal, medium, silky, marine and fresh.
- Uji sencha
Shares 6 descriptors with Enshi Yu Lu: umami, vegetal, medium, silky, marine and fresh.
- Anji Bai Cha
Shares 5 descriptors with Enshi Yu Lu: sweet, umami, vegetal, silky and fresh.