The He family (pronounced Hə “huh”) produces every one of our teas from Laoshan Village. From the sweet, beany Laoshan Green Tea to the chocolatey Laoshan Black Tea, everything is picked and processed from the tea hedges that grow on their 15 acres of land. During the busy Spring harvest, everyone in the family joins in and helps out, even little NiuNiu at just 5-months old!
He QingQing
He QingQing, NiuNiu’s mother, is Mr. and Mrs. He’s oldest daughter. A close childhood friend of WeiWei Ren, her dream is to open a full-scale teahouse featuring the teas grown by her family. She and her husband Liu have recently opened a small tea shop in the nearby rural city of Jimo where they sell the He family’s tea directly.
Mr. He
Mr. He is the head of his family and his tea farm. Mr. He remembers a time when his parents still grew potatoes and corn, before tea farming became widespread in Laoshan. In recent years, he’s overseen the development of Laoshan Black, flat-pressed “Dragonwell Style” Laoshan Green, and even two kinds of Laoshan Oolong. Mr. He has invested in a large workshop with a full range of tea processing equipment, and he freely shares the facilities with his neighboring tea farmers. Tea leaves from neighbors are carefully tracked with the family’s name and date of picking during all stages of production. This way, the neighborhood can pool and share resources even as each family maintains ownership and autonomy over their own tea.
Mrs. He
Mrs. He is not only an expert at picking and processing her family’s tea, she also possesses a wide and deep knowledge of local flowers, berries, vegetables and wild herbs. Hiking up Laoshan’s peaks with Mrs. He, your pockets will soon be full of edible berries, roots and leaves- good for what ails you. She’s proud to know that both of her daughters have learned to pick, process, and sort through the family’s tea, and even more proud to have seen both daughters through college.
Liu Jiaqi (NiuNiu)
The youngest in the He Family, little Liu Jiaqi was only five months old when we met her this Spring. Affectionately nick-named “NiuNiu” by the whole family, she spends much of her time during the harvest with her Grandma and Grandpa. Whether she grows up to take on a role in the family’s tea farm or strikes her own path, she’ll grow up drinking some of the best tea in China.
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Ooo, Two kinds of Laoshan Oolong!!! Sooo exciting! Can't wait for the new spring harvest of Laoshan Black and the oolongs, I love the He Family tea!
It is so nice to peek into the lives of the people responsible for such lovely tea. Thank you!
I love this! thank you so much for giving us this glimpse into their family!!
The He family grows some of the best tea I've ever tasted. I love how three generations of their family are involved in the tea making process.
So many pretty pictures of this lovely family.
Weiwei has such a friendly smile!
What an adorable baby!
I'm glad you posted this, it's nice to see the faces behind the delicious Laoshan tea :)
I normally am not big on green tea, but when the Laoshan Spring came with my last order from Verdant Tea as a sample, I figured, "Sure, why not? Keep an open mind and give it a try..." After I brewed it, I was struck by the wonderful buttery aroma. When I took my first sip, I instantly fell in love and knew I had to order a full sized pack.
I work in a "trendy" tea shop with a lot of flavored designer type teas, but a limited pure tea selection in a very "snobby" and affluent community. I took it to work for my manager to try. I brewed it up without telling him what it was or where it's from. He was absolutely floored and said, "This is AMAZING!" and tried guessing what it was, thinking I had mixed a couple of the shop's pure teas together. I finally told him where it's from and about Verdant Tea's website. Now he and I both agree if a customer comes in looking for a pure tea that we don't carry, we will refer that person to your site even though there is no affiliation and technically, "the competition." That's how highly with think of your product.
This is not only one of the best green teas I've had, it hands down one of the best teas I've EVER had in my life.