2021 Reserve Spring Laoshan Black

Crafted By the He Family

Pioneers and community leaders in Laoshan Village, the He family is one of the first to plant tea on the misty ocean-facing slopes of the Taoist Holy Mountain they call home.

true
savory
85
brown sugar, raw cocoa
true
spice
85
sandalwood, cinnamon
true
floral
40
honey
true
fruit
40
persimmon
true
sweet soothing spice
Tasting Profile
- savory - brown sugar, raw cocoa
- spice - sandalwood, cinnamon
- floral - honey
- fruit - persimmon
- texture - sweet soothing spice

- DATE OF PICKINGApril 21, 2021
- Laoshan VillageShandong Province
- ELEVATIONsea level
- longjing quntiTea Varietal
This new 2021 spring harvest is now in stock!
This tea is the earliest curled Laoshan Black from the He Family of 2021 - carefully crafted with hand-picked buds underneath the protection of the greenhouses, then oxidized slowly to bring out sweet, chocolatey flavor. The He Family is offering this early Laoshan Black harvest to show off the wonderful flavor that their craft in roasting and oxidizing brings to tiny budset Laoshan tea. The stored sugar and nutrients of the earliest Da Tian pickings has more sweetness and lingering aftertaste than later harvests.

The He Family also recommends:

2020 Autumn Laoshan Black
The new 2020 Autumn harvest is here! This relatively new tea is fed by sweet mountain spring water and oxidized in the sun for three days before finis[...]

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2021 Spring Laoshan Black
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. Th[...]

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2021 Wild Laoshan Gan Zao Ye

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 li[...]

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Spring 2021 Update from the Fields

Early spring in Laoshan this year came late, but stayed consistently cool and misty for a perfectly-aligned harvest.

In recent years, spring has fluctuated between freezing nights and warm days, forcing the He Family to leave their greenhouse covers on longer, but this year, the nights were temperate enough to remove the greenhouse covers early, letting the buds slowly form in the open ocean air. The results are spectacular, one of the first harvests in many years to line up with ideal conditions, letting the He Family focus more on picking and finishing craft and less on emergency field management.

What this means for the tea itself is smaller yields but extremely sweet, rich and aromatic brews packed with more minerality and textural nuance.

4
6-8
208
30 seconds
10
5
6
208
10 seconds
8
4
12
room temp
8 hours
Steeping Instructions
Western
4 g.6-8
oz.use 208° watersteep 30 secondsresteep many times
add 10 sec. each infusion
Gongfu
5 g.6 ozuse 208° watersteep 10 seconds
add 8 sec. per steepingenjoy many steepings
Iced/Cold
4 g.12
oz.use room temp. waterrefrigerate overnight
8 hoursadd ice & enjoy