Green Tea
He Family – Laoshan
Crafted By the He Family
Tasting Profile
- floral - clover honey
- vegetal - cucumber
- spice - ginger, coriander
- savory - creme pattisserie
- fruit - melon
- texture - minerality
- DATE OF PICKINGApril 18, 2022
- Laoshan VillageShandong Province
- ELEVATIONSEA LEVEL
- Longjing QuntiTea Varietal
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 shade-grown 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.
- DATE OF PICKINGApril 18, 2022
Spring 2022 Update from the Fields
Cold weather in Laoshan means smaller yields, and a long season of shade-grown covered green tea before the protective greenhouse coverings come down.
A very mild spring with very little rainfall has made for particularly concentrated creamy textural green tea and black tea. Cool weather persisted longer than usual, which kept protective shaded coverings on through April. This meant slow growth, but particularly tender sweet buds.
Not only is He Qingqing busy helping her parents finish this spring's fresh tea, but she and her husband are also celebrating the arrival of their son Liu Mu-Mu, just a few months old and already helping with the fresh Flat Pressed Laoshan Green.
Congratulations to the He Family for a wonderful spring season!
photos courtesy of He Qingqing, April 2022
The He Family also recommends:
- 2022 Spring Laoshan Gongfu BlackLaoshan Gongfu Black is one of the most difficult finishes for the He Family, requiring flat-pressing and hand-twisting and curling to achieve the final shape and finish. Mr. He saves this technique for his finest spring harvests, and this spring, the He Family set aside earlier than usual harvest to finish as this year's classic Gongfu Black for a creamy honey-and-biscuit-cookie flavor and intriguing mineral-driven sparkle in the aftertaste.
- 2022 Reserve Laoshan Gongfu Black
Laoshan Gongfu Black is one of the most difficult finishes for the He Family, requiring flat-pressing and hand-twisting and curling to achieve the final shape and finish. Mr. He saves this technique for his finest spring harvests, and this year, the He Family has reserved a small harvest of a very special grade of Laoshan Gongfu Black. The hand-twisted 'pine needles' are made with the buddy early harvest shade-grown picking, while the tea plants are still protected from the early spring cold of Laoshan's unique northern climate.
- 2022 Spring Laoshan BiluochunClassic Laoshan Bilochun is picked after the He Family removes the protective greenhouse coverings from their tea at the end of the cold season. The hand-twisting and slow finishing process of bilochun is Mr. He’s personal favorite, making this his own daily go-to tea. Hand-processing brings out even thicker texture and sweeter creamier flavors than classic Laoshan Green.
'Thankfully 2019-2020 was a mild winter compared to the last two years, meaning that the plants in China’s northernmost tea growing region did not suffer frost damage. The He Family's plants have been able to recover, and this new recovery growth has been rich and tender, a boon for the He Family after so many difficult years.'
Steeping Instructions
Western
5 g.6-8
oz.use 175° watersteep 20 secondsresteep many times
add 10 sec. each infusionGongfu
5 g.6 ozuse 175° watersteep 5 seconds
add 4 sec. per steepingenjoy many steepingsIced/Cold
5 g.12
oz.use room temp. waterrefrigerate overnight
8 hoursadd ice & enjoy
Product Photo Gallery
photos courtesy of He Qingqing, April 2022
