This is one of my favorite Chinese green teas due to its history, unique processing and cultivar, and it’s great taste. Even as a leaf-only tea, the production season for the high-end grades of this tea is very short. Because the leaves need to grow to a certain size before harvesting, this tea begins its plucking during the second harvesting interval before the rains, referred to as Yu Qian. Make sure to take the time to admire the beauty of these tea leaves before and after steeping, as well as watching them unfurl in your teapot if you are using a clear one!

Provenance:

• Origin: Xi Tou Mountain, Jin Zai Town, Liu An City, Anhui Province, China
• Grower/Teamaster: Wang Fang Sheng
• Harvest Date: April 2020
• Cultivar: Anhui San Hao Xiao Ye Zhong (Anhui #3 Small Leaves Bush)
• Cultivation: Natural (Organic, no cert.)
• Plucking Standard: 1st leaf below bud, plucked with a small amount of the twig to prevent tearing of the leaf. This twig is then removed by hand before processing
• Processing Notes:  Special brooms are used to roll this tea into its unique shape. Final firing is done in special bamboo baskets over a charcoal fire.
• Nickname: Melon Seed, or Melon Slice. The special picking and rolling of the tea was once supposed to resemble a melon seed.
• History/Pedigree: One of China’s 10 Most Famous Teas. A Ming DynastyTribute tea. Lu Yu is supposed to have mentioned this tea in his 8^th century The Classic of Tea. I have not been able to find the reference in my copy of the book, possibly due to the different names used 12 centuries ago!

Brewing Suggestions¹:

• Water: 170-180˚F
• Tea: 2g per 4oz of water (about a scant level 1 TB²)
• Steep: 2 minutes with up to 4 total steepings

Tasting Notes:

• Clean liquor of a leaf only tea; complex earthy full flavor with a nutty aroma and a long finish

¹ Brewing suggestions are just that. Try it the suggested way then experiment. In this case I suggest first experimenting with the quantity of tea per oz of water, then temperature. Timing and number of steeping can also be adjusted to personal taste. Some tea drinkers like to use slightly hotter and longer times for each subsequent steeping.

² Weighing your tea is always the best way to control your dosage. I provide approximate volume measures for convenience but they can be problematic due to the variance in tea leaf shape and size.