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. The delicate leaves spring open and release a deep sweet toasted oat aroma. The first sips are similar to genmaicha- green tea mixed with toasted puffed rice. As the tea steeps out it shows off complex notes of goji berry, coconut, eucalyptus, and cardamom. The aftertaste is supremely sweet, cooling and refreshing.

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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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The Huai Flower of the Scholar's Tree grows wild across the slopes of Laoshan. The aromatic little flowers have been used in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years for anti-inflammatory properties. The He Family has been wild-foraging and brewing Huai Hua for as long as they can remember, but this year again they decided to apply their meticulous tea processing to these unique flowers, including withering, heat fixing, curling and drying. The flowers partially oxidize during these processes, bringing out deep complexity and lingering sweet aftertaste.

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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 intense flavor and complexity.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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