Description

A new addition to our green tea lineup for 2024, this Huangshan maofeng is made from entirely 1st picking/pre-ming “Tuzhong” varietal, which has undergone charcoal roasting. As with our other quntizhong green teas, this less common heirloom varietal tea sprouts later in the season with a smaller yield, trading in some initial fragrance for a more rounded body and fuller sensation in the mouth.

However, that’s not to say this tea lacks in the fragrance department. Our preference is always towards the older varietal, as they tend to have a more balanced profile and intriguing character, rather than relying on a strong initial impression that fades. In the case of this tea, a pleasant orchid fragrance lingers in and coats the mouth and throat for quite a while after taking a sip. The soup is quite sweet, with a strong 鲜/umami quality, but not quite as grassy or vegetal as other examples. Where most green teas tend to abruptly drop on the 3rd infusion, this tea remains quite interesting up to and past that point, developing in flavour and maintaining a strong body.

This tea also wears the watermark of this year’s spring season in Huangshan, as the first flush of Tuzhong varietal teas were hit by hail, which left small bruising and tiny spots on the bottom and tips of some leaves.

If you’ve enjoyed our The Finest Mengding Ganlu, then we highly recommend comparing with this tea, as they share many similarities in terms of quality and price point, but with significant differences in processing (rolling).

Similar to the Ganlu, we recommend brewing this tea with 80-85c water in a glass gongdaobei/pitcher and using a smaller amount of tea than you would for gongfu brewing. Something around 1 gram to 30ml of water should be good, but feel free to adjust this depending on taste. Brew the first infusion for around 1 minute, then keep topping up the pitcher as you please. Should you want to brew gongfu style, we still recommend keeping the water temperature low and using glassware if possible.

$0.56/gram