Laoshan.
A mountainous area on the east side of China. South east of Beijing and due north of Shanghai.
My appreciation for Chinese and Japanese tea is higher than that of others after visiting both countries. What I acknowledge more than anything now though is a family tea farm, such as the He family that grows, harvests, and processes this tea.
Flavors of vegetal, sweet grass, almost a lettuce type of flavor are heavy on the palette. It finishes with an interesting sweet note. They reference a light herbaceous cooling in the aftertaste in the letter that came with the tea box.
I wish I could explain this to you but it literally has a cooling feeling with a flavor of a bunch of mixed herbs.
Also worth a mention is the dry smell and look. Called Pine Needle green because it resembles a pine needle. The leaves they use require plumper leaves due to the process this tea goes through to receive the pine needle look.
They require a bit more work than other green teas. The smell, though fleeting, was an intense waft of vegetal and grassy bliss. If you enjoy green teas I highly suggest giving this one a try.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Description
This innovative tea is first carefully curled before being pulled straight – all by hand. The result is a delicate, nuanced, and flavorful brew that lasts through multiple steepings. He Qingqing loves the way the leaves dance in a glass pitcher for brewing and the way that the hand finishing shows off Laoshan’s delicate deep-green buds and leaves at a glance. This tea is fed by mountain spring water, picked by hand, and cultivated sustainably using traditional chemical-free farming techniques including growing rows of soybean between rows of tea to restore nitrates to the soil. The extreme northern climate means cold winters and short growing seasons, but the He Family perseveres, protecting their tea in greenhouses over the winter. The result is a deeply sweet and delicate green tea unlike any other in the world. This year’s harvest is particularly notable for the deep minerality that shows off Laoshan’s rocky soil.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bi Luo Chun/Beantown Tea. . . .
Beantown Tea describes this green tea as “resembling snail meat,” but don’t let that deter you. Put the snail thing aside and give this a try.
This green tea is on the very airy end of green, practically a white. In fact, some of the balls’ coloring is white, and fuzzy, which means it was plucked early in the season.
The flavor’s balances green and white: a mix of earth, leaves, pollen, and electricity.
This tea tastes like a moon setting and dawn’s birds chirping. It tastes like waking up very, very early for an event and walking toward your car in the meandering morning breeze, everyone asleep around you. It’s being the only person at the intersection at 5 a.m.
I got this tea from Etsy, and there was a mix-up with my address (my fault, not theirs). The customer service, I have to let you know, was TOP-NOTCH. They followed up and offered to send me a follow-up package right away — even though the mistake was NOT their fault. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. (The second package wasn’t necessary; the post office on my end figured out what to do. It arrived safely.)
Thumbs-up on this one. I have another one I’m going to try in the next week or so!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Beantown Tea and Spices
Description
Bi Luo Chun is regarded as one of the best green tea China offers. It brews a refreshing cup that is floral, slightly earthy with nutty notes. Bi Luo Chun literally means “green snail spring”. It is called “green snail spring” because it is a green tea that is hand rolled into a tight spiral, resembling snail meat, and is plucked and produced early spring. The annual productions span of the Bi Luo Chun is very short. It is picked between the Spring Equinox (end of March) and Qing Ming (early April). Our ‘Choral Bi Luo Chun’ tea is made from the finest tender buds, gathered and processed exclusively by hand.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jasmine Snow Bud (Mo Li Xue Ya)/Teavivre. . . .
My favorite jasmine teas have come from Teavivre, a tea company located in the Fujian Province in China. My number one jasmine to keep on hand is their Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea, as well as their Peach Jasmine Dragon Pearl, which is a favorite with guests. I think I have owned nearly every type of jasmine tea they have ever carried!
I also kept their “economy” jasmine tea on hand for serving with food, because the meal masks the high quality of the other teas and it made sense to go with something less expensive when I couldn’t taste and enjoy the tea fully. But I really preferred the others for special tea times and gong fu steeping.
Jasmine tea is a great de-stresser for me. It is as effective as a bubble bath, if not more so, for making tight muscles relax and tense nerves mellow. I love to make a pot when there is a lot of hubbub, like lots of guests and mad holiday cooking going on full speed ahead. So when I found out they have added new jasmine teas to their line up, I had to try them!
This snow bud tea is a loose tea that is first scented repeatedly with fresh jasmine flowers and then finally, more strongly scented jasmine flowers are added to the leaves and left to impart even more flavor.
Does this make it too flowery? Too soapy? Not at all. This costs about the same as the economy grade jasmine I used to buy but is far superior to it, in my opinion. At this price point, I will gladly serve it with food, but the flavor and smoothness of the base is so good that I can happily enjoy it all by itself or with a treat. It is a worthy addition to the Teavivre jasmine collection.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Rich jasmine fragrance with sweet aftertaste
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
China Snow Dragon Green/Simpson and Vail. . . .
Not too long ago…I knew what I wanted…I wanted a green tea. I wanted a green tea from China…I wanted something mystical like a Dragon and soft like snow…lucky me…I had a pouch of China Snow Dragon Green Tea from Simpson and Vail that I had waiting for me.
I have found my own personal ‘sweet spot’ for infusing green teas and that is just shy of 2 minutes. This one stood up to the test.
These leaves were a FUN mix of green leaf and white downy (snow) buds. The aroma is fresh yet vegetal. It brews to a pale green cup with a light, delicate floral taste, too!
I was happy to learn that this special green tea comes from gardens in Fuding county which is a Fujian province in China. This county is known for its steep mountains and vast seacoast and I have to say you can really taste the difference in the tea!
This was another winner from Simpson & Vail! Can’t wait to see and TASTE what is next!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
This special green tea comes from gardens in Fuding county, Fujian province in China. This county is known for its steep mountains and vast seacoast.
These leaves are a mix of green leaf and white downy (snow) buds. The aroma is fresh and vegetal. It brews to a pale green cup with a light, delicate floral taste. Truly exquisite!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sleeping Dragon Tea/Adagio Teas
Gunpowder green tea was among the first green teas I’d tried as a kid. It’s a little nostalgic and is now my go-to drink when I’m having a rough day and just need a pick-me-up. It’s also probably responsible for my affinity for smoky-tasting teas and wines.
Sleeping Dragon picks up some of those notes from a good gunpowder tea, especially in the first cup. The first steep is rich, smoky, with subtle hints of fruit. Steep a second time and you get more of a fruity, lightly sweet green with a smoother, well-rounded flavor. (If you don’t like smoky tea, you can steep for 1.5 to 2 minutes and cut back on those flavors.)
This is a tea that’s fun to watch in a glass teapot—pellets slowly unfurl into long, beautiful green leaves that have a wonderful fragrance. If you’re not a fan of really grassy green teas, I highly recommend this one. It’s also a great intro to loose-leaf greens for friends who are new to green teas—it’s a very mild flavor that won’t send curious tea drinkers running the other way.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Sleeping Dragon green tea is grown at about 3,000 feet in the mountainous Fujian province. The tightly rolled leaves and silvery fuzzy buds give this tea its signature shape and name. In the cup, it delivers a soft, fruity sweetness enfolded by a rich smokey note similar to a gunpowder, but more complex and crisp in the finish. Sleeping Dragon remains a great cup for a green tea novice or those who oppose the grassy character of some varieties.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
