Verdant Tea

Discover Laoshan with the He Family

Discover Laoshan with the He Family

Regular Price $52.90 $47.61
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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.

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. 

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.

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, Laoshan Green Oolong and Laoshan Roasted Oolong, and even experimental Laoshan Gan Zao Ye, a wild-foraged herbal finished with green tea craft.

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.

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 Biluochun Green, Special Grade Laoshan Gongfu Black, Laoshan Green Oolong and Laoshan Roasted Oolong, and Laoshan Goji Leaf, an experimental wild-foraged herbal.

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.

This bundle includes three 25g bags and ten 5g 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, Laoshan Green Oolong and Laoshan Roasted Oolong, and even experimental Laoshan Gan Zao Ye, a wild-foraged herbal finished with green tea craft.

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.

Discover Laoshan with the He Family's teas: 

Autumn Laoshan Black (25g)

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.

Learn more about this tea >>

Reserve Laoshan Gongfu Black (25g)

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.

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Reserve Laoshan Green Oolong (25g)

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.

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Laoshan Osmanthus Black (25g)

This year is the six 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.

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Spring Laoshan Green Tea (25g)

Laoshan Green was the first tea produced at Taiqing temple by the Taoist monks of Laoshan. The plants were originally brought to the region from Dragonwell, and slowly allowed to adapt to the unique cold ocean climate of the area. The He Family’s Laoshan Green is fed by mountain spring water, picked by hand, and cultivated sustainably using traditional chemical-free farming techniques. The result is rich, fresh flavor full of Laoshan's famous sweet vegetal-savory soy bean flavor aroma.

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Laoshan Roasted Oolong (25g)

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.

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Laoshan Sweet Potato Leaf Tea (25g)

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. The He Family 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.

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Laoshan Goji Leaf Tea (25g)

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 experimental tea from the He Family!

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"Laoshan is unlike any other tea region on earth.

Our farm sits at sea level, protected from the sun by the ocean mist
that rolls up the slopes of the steep Laoshan mountainsides. Our parents began
cultivating tea in this village sixty years ago and started the right way with
organic farming & respect for the ecosystem of our Taoist holy mountain.

We hand pick every leaf and hand-finish our tea in small batches.

We hope you'll taste for yourself to understand what makes our family's tea
from the northernmost tea region in China so unique."

 

- He Changke // 何昌科

“Laoshan is unlike any other tea region on earth.

Our farm sits at sea level, protected from the sun by the ocean mist
that rolls up the slopes of the steep Laoshan mountainsides. Our parents began
cultivating tea in this village sixty years ago and started the right way with
organic farming & respect for the ecosystem of our Taoist holy mountain.
We hand pick every leaf and hand-finish our tea in small batches.

We hope you’ll taste for yourself to understand what makes our family’s tea
from the northernmost tea region in China so unique.”

– He Changke // 何昌科

Our Home: Laoshan Village

our tea fields in Laoshan // we begin to remove the greenhouse covers in May
our family lives in Laoshan Village between the beautiful mountains and the ocean

 

  • tea plants nurtured
    by famous mountain springs

  • the coldest tea climate in China
    produces sweet teas

  • rocky soilproduces mineral-driven texture

  • shaded 3-layer greenhouses
    protect early spring leaves

  • protected National Forest land
    for clean air and water

  • biodynamic farming
    for healthy plants and people

About Us: the He Family

 

He Changke is a proud 2nd generation tea farmer.

His father was one of the first people to plant tea in the village outside of the Taoist monastery, pioneering organic farming with a vision of making Laoshan the most famous tea microclimate in China. Mr. He is passing on his father's work to his daughter He Qingqing, co-owner of importer Verdant Tea.

Qingqing and her parents have worked together to not only improve the craft of the region, but invent entirely new tea types to bring fame to Laoshan and raise up their village.

The He Family hopes that tea will be the path to better living for the whole region, and believe a healthy tea industry in Laoshan is the best way to champion environmental protection for Laoshan National Park.

Above, He Qingqing in the workshop with her mother, father, younger sister, and daughter

Our Teas and Craft

He Changke works with fresh tea leaves
everyone works together to sort tea leaves

 

We work hard for our teas.

In the south, mild climates mean easier seasons. Here in the north, we rebuild greenhouses every winter, cut back every summer, and grow soybeans between tea fields as a way to distract insects and to mulch and return nitrates to our soil.

When picking season arrives, we have a short window of perfect weather to hand pick every tender bud .

We hand-finish every leaf in our family workshop. Every 100g of finished tea takes more than a pound of fresh picked leaves. Many of our teas take over 16 hours of craft to get from fresh leaves to finished tea.

We take no shortcuts in our craft because we believe that Laoshan unique climate can produce some of the best teas in the world.

See us at work

 

Many importers claim to source from small family farms, but are they actually sharing the stories, values, and point of view of the farmers?

Don't settle for tea of questionable origins. See the people behind the tea and hear the real stories. The He Family and Verdant Tea have been working together for almost a decade. Here are just two videosfrom our time together:

Learn even more!

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