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This bundle includes eight caffeine-free wild-foraged herbal teas for 200g total. The He Family in Laoshan is bringing green tea craft to wild-foraged caffeine-free herbals picked within the Laoshan Ecological Preserve in extremely limited quantities. This kit is an introduction to the way that tea craft brings nuance, depth and complexity to plants beyond camellia sinensis, and offers satisfying diverse and fully caffeine-free flavors perfect for any time of day. The He Family is dedicated to sustainable agriculture, and meticulous hand-finishing craft in the workshop. This kit is an invitation to see their craft in action, from rich sweet jujube to fruity and creamy huai hua blossoms.
This bundle includes five 25g bags of Laoshan tea for 125g total (25 sessions).
The He Family were some of the first to plant tea in Laoshan, one of China’s newest and northernmost tea growing regions. Laoshan is a mountain village on the ocean, subject to cold winters that give the tea a flavor unlike any other on earth. Mr. He has established a cooperative to promote his award-winning vision for sustainable beyond-organic agriculture and rigorous technically demanding craft.
This collection represents the most classic and iconically representative teas the He Family produces. It is an invitation from Mr. He, Qingqing and the whole family to get to know their passion and their unwavering commitment to make Laoshan one of the most famous tea regions in China. You’ll get to taste the wildly-popular Laoshan Green and Laoshan Black, and Laoshan Green Oolong, and even experimental Laoshan Osmanthus Black and Laoshan Gan Zao Ye, wild-foraged herbal tea.
While every tea in the collection represents a tremendous diversity of flavor, the whole collection circles around the iconic rich malty soybean profile of the region and the rocky texture of the mountain soil.
True Competition-Level Black Tea from Laoshan. This is the earliest, sweetest, most delicate harvest of the year, meticulously hand-rolled and twisted in the style of high-end Wuyi tea. The "gongfu" finish brings out notes of nutmeg, brown sugar, and fine dark chocolate.
The sweet potato is the most iconic fixture of Shandong province, and grows in every family garden in Laoshan village and up the mountainside. For decades, villagers have harvested semi-wild sweet potato from within the Laoshan National Park between rocky outcroppings and gnarled trees. As Laoshan tea becomes more famous and brings a better standard of living to the region, sweet potato has become a less critical crop, but this tea honors the tradition by applying tea finishing technique to foraged sweet potato leaf. This year's Sweet Potato Leaf tea is a collaboration between the whole neighborhood (the He Family District) and the He Famiy's workshop. Working together, several families picked Laoshan sweet potato leaves, then used the He Family's guidance and technique to oxidize the leaves in the sun, wither and roast, similar to black tea processing. This year, the cooperative had to roast the sweet potato leaf five times just to stop oxidation, making this a notably slow and time consuming tea to produce. Only several kilos were made this year, and we are lucky to offer the majority of the harvest while it lasts.
A member of the Solanaceae family, the caffeine-free Goji berry plant (Lycium barbarum) grows wild across Northern China - including on the slopes of Laoshan in Shandong. Though the plant is most famous for its berries, its dried leaves have been a part of traditional medicine in China for centuries. Early this spring, the He Family foraged young and tender spring goji leaves and carefully finished them with green tea processing and an open leaf style. We are so excited for the opportunity to share this another experimental tea from the He Family!
Picked in the October fall weather, this early autumn harvest Reserve Laoshan Green is picked from the first tender growth of the cool weather season. The extreme northern climate means cold winters and short tea growing seasons in Laoshan, but these sweet buds and tender young leaves are picked before the winter cold ends the growing season at the He Family’s ocean-facing plot at the foot of the Laoshan mountains. This special seasonal offering is intensely sweet with a crisp, fresh flavor and juicy, mouthwatering aftertaste.
The classic green tea loose leaf pick from Laoshan, packed with creamy green bean flavor and hand-picked in the He Family’s organic mist-shaded fields. This harvest is picked in the cool autumn air after resting the plant through summer. The result is crisp, fresh flavor with more savory green bean and cream that Laoshan for which Laoshan is famous. The He family's signature green 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.
The He Family saves this time-consuming flat-passing technique for their sweetest most delicate harvests of the year. The flat-pressing technique is inspired by Dragonwell green tea hand-crafting, and with the cool-weather precious autumn harvest, Mr. He brings out floral notes and deep herbaceous complexity. The day-long meticulous finishing process is worth it for the beautiful leaves that dance in the cup, and the sweet aromatics .
Mr. He’s daughter Qingqing, co-owner of Verdant Tea, pioneered this finishing style with her father. She loves the long delicate twisting technique for the way the leaves dance in a glass pitcher as they unfold yielding a delicate nuanced brew that lasts over multiple steepings. The hand pulled and twisted finish on this early reserve harvest shows off the delicate deep-green buds that the family picks with so much care, cultivating with sustainable chemical free farming, and fed by sweet mountain spring water.
Exquisitely hand finished loose leaf green tea from the He Family, this flat-pressed style brings out the complex flavor of Laoshan’s terroir and unique organic green tea growing techniques including crop rotation and cut-back cycles. Laoshan tea was originally brought to the area from Dragonwell, so for this cultivar, flat-pressing is a return to its origins. The day-long labor-intensive process to finish this delicate tea makes for beautiful leaves to brew in glass. The flavor is lighter but the aroma and sweetness more pronounced with flat-pressing. The flat-pressing technique really allows the subtle complexity of this season’s harvest to shine through.
Long slender hand-twisted leaves picked in early spring from organic cultivation rocky fields. Mr. He only makes his green tea loose leaf so that people can appreciate the craft and beauty of his finishing technique. The flavor is delicate, mineral-driven and sweet through every steeping thanks to the careful hand-finishing, cold northern climate, and innovative growing techniques.
The green tea loose leaf classic from Laoshan, hand-picked in the He Family’s organic mist-shaded fields and packed with creamy green bean flavor. The He family's signature green 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 special hand picked, hand made tea was picked this year during the early shade-grown spring harvest in mid-April, with the He Family's greenhouse protection against the cold of Laoshan's unique northern climate. With the greenhouse protection still in place, the tea plants grow slowly for textural intensity and sweetness unique to shade-grown tea. The flat-pressing process that Mr. He uses to finish this fresh spring harvest is inspired by Dragonwell green tea. In fact, Laoshan tea was originally brought to the area from Dragonwell, so for this cultivar, flat-pressing is a return to its origins. The day-long labor-intensive process to finish this delicate tea makes for beautiful leaves to brew in glass. The flavor is lighter but the aroma and sweetness more pronounced with flat-pressing.
A mild winter and cool spring has made for a beautiful early harvest of shade-grown Reserve Laoshan Green. These sweet and delicates buds and leaves are picked while still under greenhouse protection in the He Family’s ocean-facing plot at the foot of the Laoshan mountains. The early April picking is still intensely sweet and packed with deep minerality.
Mr. He personally hand twists and finished each leaf in this labor-intensive early-spring biluochun style. Laoshan spring comes much later than southern China. At this time of year, before Qing Ming festival, the He Family's Laoshan tea is fully shade-grown, protected by greenhouse coverings to keep back the cold northern air. The nuance of the bilochun processing style brings out the subtle minerality of the Laoshan microclimate. Delicate slow-growing green tea is very limited until the coverings come off in late April - this year's 2023 harvest is limited to less than 5kg
This is the He Family’s iconic loose leaf green tea: organic farming, curled leaves that dance in the cup, all carefully hand-finished for rich creamy flavor. Delicate hand-picked buds and leaves are withered in bamboo baskets, and carefully hand curled and rolled under low heat to form beautiful long twists that unfold gracefully in a glass teapot or tumbler. The fresh and delicate leaf material is the first new growth of the cool autumn season as the weather starts turning and the mornings and nights are misty again.
Long, slender hand-twisted green tea loose leaf picked in the early autumn from organic cultivation rocky fields, finished to show off the beauty of the young buds. The flavor is delicate, mineral-driven and sweet through every steeping thanks to the careful hand-finishing, cold northern climate, and innovative growing techniques.
The green tea loose leaf classic from Laoshan, hand-picked in the He Family’s organic mist-shaded fields and packed with creamy green bean flavor. This harvest is picked in the cool autumn air after resting the plant through summer. The result is crisp, fresh flavor with more savory green bean and cream that Laoshan for which Laoshan is famous. The He family's signature green 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.
The He Family’s Laoshan Black has become their most famous tea, earning them features in the US and Chinese news media for their innovative work. This tea is fed by Laoshan’s famously sweet mountain spring water and oxidized traditionally for three days before finishing to bring out rich chocolate notes. This year's spring was particularly cool with its start a full two weeks later than usual. Rich, full bodied and satisfying, Laoshan Black has become our benchmark for all other black teas.
This relatively new tea is fed by sweet mountain spring water and oxidized in the sun for three days before finishing to bring out signature chocolate notes. Mr. He perfected this tea as a proud reflection of the bold Shandong spirit and the perseverance of Laoshan Village. Laoshan Black is a labor of love to prove to the world how wonderful teas from Northern China can be. The cold weather, and pure mountain springs come together for a microclimate that yields some of the sweetest and most chocolatey black tea in China with a unique and distinctly northern flavor. This year in particular, dry and mild weather leading up to autumn in has yielded the sweetest picking in years, but a tiny yield due to reduced rainfall. The He family produced less than half of what they usually would this year.
Hand-Twisted Craft Black Tea. First flat-pressed, then hand twisted, Laoshan Gongfu Black is a difficult finish favored by the He Family to bring out sparkling minerality in their tea. This spring tea has notes of rose, caramel flan and tropical citrus.
The He Family has been perfecting their long oxidation process and unique curling style for Laoshan Black craft for ten years, and this represents their finest autumn offering. Picked from the sweetest most delicate autumn buds, the reserve-level Laoshan Black focuses on rich creamy texture with a balanced deep flavor. It has been years since the weather conditions lined up for a reserve-level harvest, so we are excited that the He Family was able to offer this limited tea to showcase their craft.
The He Family is known for their bold willingness to innovate, and this singular tea is a perfect example of the way they push the boundaries of genre. Wild-picking Laoshan osmanthus and using it to scent buddy resrev-level black tea is still a new craft in Laoshan, just a few years old, but the results have been spectacular, juicy, a and almost oolong-like. This year, He Qingqing wanted to push the idea of oolong inspiration, borrowing roasting craft from Wuyishan and giving her family's black tea a special secondary wood-firing to bring out deep toasty depth. The results really are in the style of teas like Tieluohan. Instead of overwhelming the osmanthus, the roast balances it, adding depth to the honeyed dessert-like qualities of the He Family's black tea.
This year is the sixth fantastic harvest of the He Family's new osmanthus-scented black tea. Once again, the He Family is sharing a rich reserve-level Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black, scented during finishing with tiny hand-picked Laoshan Osmanthus flowers. The brown sugar, honey and fruity chocolate notes are melded together perfectly with the luscious almost creamy floral of the He Family’s meticulously hand-harvested Osmanthus blossoms. This tea is one of the hardest to make in the He Family collection since the local osmanthus blossoms are so small that they have to pick thousands just to make tiny batch of finished tea, but the results are worth the effort.
Mr He uses meticulous black tea loose leaf finishing techniques to twist and curl these beautiful buds, using traditional sun-oxidation to make a rich and deeply complex black tea. The result is Lashan’s most mineral-forward and complex black tea to date. 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 finished tea picks up the rocky minerality of the soil, and careful low temperature roasting brings out deep brown sugar sweetness.
The He Family’s Most Popular Tea. This cool autumn season harvest black tea is packed with flavor and aromatics, fully oxidized and roasted to achieve the iconic malty, chocolatey, honeyed Laoshan Black flavor.
Laoshan Roasted Oolong is the most technically-demanding and labor-intensive tea that the He Family produces. As one of the first people in Northern China to take on oolong craft, Mr. He is defining the flavor and value of this new tea for the entire region. He starts with tender hand-picked leaves from his mountain-spring fed ocean-facing plot, and allows them a full two days to oxidize before beginning the critical kneading and shaking stage that brings out deep rich fruit and florals not normally present. These flavors are locked in with a heavy roast for a tea with the satisfying body of Laoshan Black but with the subtlety of the fine oolong.
Laoshan Green Oolong takes the beautiful mineral-forward green bean profile of Laoshan Green and gives it an astounding depth and complexity through meticulous labor intensive craftsmanship. Mr. He starts with sweet rich fresh leaves, then kneads and shakes the leaves to bring out rich florals and fruity undertones. Heat locks in the green quality of this tea before it can oxidize, yielding a fresh pure and honest expression of the unique flavor of the region. The He Family's special combination of green tea and oolong finishing lock in fresh bright vegetal notes, while accentuating deep tingling minerality and building a luscious fruity floral oolong undertone.
Laoshan Roasted Oolong is a triumph of technique coming together with the iconic chocolatey flavor that Laoshan has become famous for. An eighteen hour process in the workshop brings deep complex minerality, fruity and floral undertones to this fully-oxidized reserve harvest. Since it’s invention just a few seasons ago, the He Family has been sharing their technique with their neighbors; now five families in Laoshan are producing Laoshan Oolong. It is affectionately called “Dou Dou Cha” (little soy bean tea) by everyone in Laoshan, both for Laoshan teas’ unique “soy bean” aroma and for the oolong’s adorable rolled shape. This spring, Mr. He reserved part of his family’s early spring shade-grown harvests specifically to create this special reserve grade Roasted Laoshan Oolong tea.
Laoshan Green Oolong takes the beautiful mineral-forward green bean profile of Laoshan Green and gives it an astounding depth and complexity through meticulous labor intensive craftsmanship. Mr. He starts with sweet and fresh shade-grown leaves, then kneads and shakes the leaves to bring out rich florals and fruity undertones. Heat locks in the green quality of this tea before it can oxidize, yielding a fresh pure and honest expression of the unique flavor of the region. This special reserve tea was made from the He Family's early spring shade-grown harvests, picked while the winter greenhouses are still in place to protect against the cold northern climate.
Laoshan Roasted Oolong is an exciting experimental tea, applying traditional Southern Chinese yaoqing technique, an eight hour labor-intensive step, on top of slow careful roasting and curling, to produce a complex and nuanced tea that is distinctly Northern, and distinctly new. It takes the He Family an entire day to produce just a few kilos of this special tea, but the results are worth it. Yaoqing finishing gives deep fruit and floral undertones to the He Family’s trademark chocolate and malty base flavors. The careful kneading and rolling also brings out a beautiful, pure expression of the minerality of the soil and the water.
Suan Zao Ye (Wild Spiny Zizyphus) is a naturally caffeine-free herbal tea that grows unmanaged and wild on the slopes of Laoshan. While the seeds of the sour dates have been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Suan Zao Ren), the He family forages a limited quantity in April and early May, before the tender spring buds grow too large or the spiny thorns too firm. This year, the leaves were then hand-processed just like a traditional Laoshan green tea, with withering, firing and curling. The final result is packed with delicious flavor and complexity.
The He Family is continuing their tradition again this year of wild-foraging caffeine-free native Laoshan herbs and using their expertise at green tea processing to finish the leaves like a traditional green tea. While Shandong native Lu mulberry leaf would normally be simply air-dried for use in medicinal tea, the He Family has applied withering, heat-fixing, curling and tumble-drying to bring out much richer and more subtle flavor through their craft. We are excited to share the He Family's herbal teas once again this spring season, and to offer a look at the flavor of Laoshan from another plant entirely different from camellia sinensis!
Gan Zao Ye (Wild Jujube) is a naturally caffeine-free herbal tea that grows unmanaged and wild on the slopes of Laoshan. The He family forages a limited quantity each spring and hand-processes it just like a traditional green tea with withering, firing and curling. The final result is packed with just as much flavor complexity (and antioxidants) as a traditional tea with a striking barley and walnut flavor.
While the He Family produces a beautiful Huai Flower tea of their own, they personally recommended the Lu Family's stunningly tiny huai blossoms as showing off another side of Laoshan's unique flavor. The Lu family works with the He Family in the same cooperative, so they collaborate on exciting projects like this one. The Huai Flower is a member of the Sophora family and has sweet rich notes of honey, cherry, licorice and sesame.
Grown by the Lu Family, harvested with hulls intact (like brown rice), this is then toasted on the Lu Family’s tea finishing equipment for an even toastiness. This tea is nostalgic like Genmaicha or Korean barley tea, and makes a fantastic addition to your favorite Laoshan Green. Their finishing craft makes this incredibly rich, deep, creamy and packed with notes of caramel and brown sugar.
Honeysuckle bushes grow across Laoshan and Mr. Lu knows just the right secret spots and picking windows to capture juicy sweet wild honeysuckle, drying it at his Laoshan workshop in bamboo baskets and offering it up as an exquisite and unique caffeine-free herbal tea.
Dandelion grows wild across Laoshan, and while the He Family finishes dandelion leaves as a green tea, the Lu Family digs up the roots to dry and toast for a rich deep complex caffeine-free herbal tea harvested at the peak of sweetness for a malty, honeyed flavor and notes of vanilla, nutmeg, and licorice.
The Lu Family wild-forages Yu Zhu (or Solomon's seal) root within the Laoshan Ecological Preserve and gives it a deep dark roast on their tea finishing equipment back at the workshop. This is a far cry from typical pale sliced Yu Zhu you might see at a traditional Chinese medicine apothecary - the Lu Family keeps their Yu Zhu in big whole pieces for an even roast, yielding rich peanut butter flavor and sweet notes of brown sugar.
Delicate Laoshan Artemisia blossoms are wild-picked by Mr. Lu in the spring to capture their intensely sweet flavor. Artemisia is related to mugwort and wormwood, but instead of vegetal flavor, it is uniquely sweet, floral and chocolatey. As a member of the He Jia Cooperative and friend of Mr. He, Mr. Lu is dedicated to finishing caffeine-free herbal teas like this one in Laoshan.
Available in bulk 250g sizes - this relatively new tea is fed by sweet mountain spring water and oxidized in the sun for three days before finishing to bring out signature chocolate notes. Mr. He perfected this tea as a proud reflection of the bold Shandong spirit and the perseverance of Laoshan Village. Laoshan Black is a labor of love to prove to the world how wonderful teas from Northern China can be. The cold weather, and pure mountain springs come together for a microclimate that yields some of the sweetest and most chocolatey black tea in China with a unique and distinctly northern flavor.