Verdant Tea

Picked in the October fall weather, this early autumn harvest Reserve Laoshan Green is picked from the first tender growth of the cool weather season. The extreme northern climate means cold winters and short tea growing seasons in Laoshan, but these sweet buds and tender young leaves are picked before the winter cold ends the growing season at the He Family’s ocean-facing plot at the foot of the Laoshan mountains. This special seasonal offering is intensely sweet with a crisp, fresh flavor and juicy, mouthwatering aftertaste.

This is the He Family’s iconic loose leaf green tea: organic farming, curled leaves that dance in the cup, all carefully hand-finished for rich creamy flavor. Delicate hand-picked buds and leaves are withered in bamboo baskets, and carefully hand curled and rolled under low heat to form beautiful long twists that unfold gracefully in a glass teapot or tumbler. The fresh and delicate leaf material is the first new growth of the cool autumn season as the weather starts turning and the mornings and nights are misty again. 

The He Family saves this time-consuming flat-passing technique for their sweetest most delicate harvests of the year. The flat-pressing technique is inspired by Dragonwell green tea hand-crafting, and with the cool-weather precious autumn harvest, Mr. He brings out floral notes and deep herbaceous complexity. The day-long meticulous finishing process is worth it for the beautiful leaves that dance in the cup, and the sweet aromatics .

The green tea loose leaf classic from Laoshan, hand-picked in the He Family’s organic mist-shaded fields and packed with creamy green bean flavor. The He family's signature green tea is fed by mountain spring water, picked by hand, and cultivated sustainably using traditional chemical-free farming techniques including growing rows of soybean between rows of tea to restore nitrates to the soil. The extreme northern climate means cold winters and short growing seasons, but the He Family perseveres, protecting their tea in greenhouses over the winter. The result is a deeply sweet and delicate green tea unlike any other in the world.

Classic 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.

A mild winter and cool spring has made for a beautiful early harvest of shade-grown Reserve Laoshan Green. These sweet and delicates buds and leaves are picked while still under greenhouse protection in the He Family’s ocean-facing plot at the foot of the Laoshan mountains. The early April picking is still intensely sweet and packed with deep minerality.

Mr. He personally hand twists and finished each leaf in this labor-intensive early-spring biluochun style. Laoshan spring comes much later than southern China. At this time of year, before Qing Ming festival, the He Family's Laoshan tea is fully shade-grown, protected by greenhouse coverings to keep back the cold northern air. The nuance of the bilochun processing style brings out the subtle minerality of the Laoshan microclimate. Delicate slow-growing green tea is very limited until the coverings come off in late April - this year's 2022 harvest is limited to less than 5kg

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 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.

Long, slender hand-twisted green tea loose leaf picked in the early autumn from organic cultivation rocky fields, finished to show off the beauty of the young buds. The flavor is delicate, mineral-driven and sweet through every steeping thanks to the careful hand-finishing, cold northern climate, and innovative growing techniques.

Long slender hand-twisted leaves picked in early spring from organic cultivation rocky fields. Mr. He only makes his green tea loose leaf so that people can appreciate the craft and beauty of his finishing technique. The flavor is delicate, mineral-driven and sweet through every steeping thanks to the careful hand-finishing, cold northern climate, and innovative growing techniques.

The classic green tea loose leaf pick from Laoshan, packed with creamy green bean flavor and hand-picked in the He Family’s organic mist-shaded fields. This harvest is picked in the cool autumn air after resting the plant through summer. The result is crisp, fresh flavor with more savory green bean and cream that Laoshan for which Laoshan is famous. The He family's signature green tea is fed by mountain spring water, picked by hand, and cultivated sustainably using traditional chemical-free farming techniques including growing rows of soybean between rows of tea to restore nitrates to the soil. The extreme northern climate means cold winters and short growing seasons, but the He Family perseveres, protecting their tea in greenhouses over the winter. The result is a deeply sweet and delicate green tea unlike any other in the world.

Mr. He personally hand twists and finished each leaf in this labor-intensive early-spring biluochun style. Laoshan spring comes much later than southern China, so these early May harvests are picked under cool weather and light sun exposure without their winter greenhouse coverings for sweet and rich flavor. The nuance of the bilochun processing style brings out the subtle minerality of the Laoshan microclimate.

Exquisitely hand finished loose leaf green tea from the He Family, this flat-pressed style brings out the complex flavor of Laoshan’s terroir and unique organic green tea growing techniques including crop rotation and cut-back cycles. Laoshan tea was originally brought to the area from Dragonwell, so for this cultivar, flat-pressing is a return to its origins. The day-long labor-intensive process to finish this delicate tea makes for beautiful leaves to brew in glass. The flavor is lighter but the aroma and sweetness more pronounced with flat-pressing. The flat-pressing technique really allows the subtle complexity of this season’s harvest to shine through.

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. This year in particular, dry and mild weather leading up to autumn in has yielded the sweetest picking in years, but a tiny yield due to reduced rainfall. The He family produced less than half of what they usually would this year.

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 body is light and smooth, without astringency.

The He Family has been perfecting their long oxidation process and unique curling style for Laoshan Black craft for ten years, and this represents their finest autumn offering. Picked from the sweetest most delicate autumn buds, the reserve-level Laoshan Black focuses on rich creamy texture with a balanced deep flavor. It has been years since the weather conditions lined up for a reserve-level harvest, so we are excited that the He Family was able to offer this limited tea to showcase their craft.

Hand-Twisted Craft Black Tea. First flat-pressed, then hand twisted, Laoshan Gongfu Black is a difficult finish favored by the He Family to bring out sparkling minerality in their tea. This spring tea has notes of rose, caramel flan and tropical citrus.

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. This tea is fed by Laoshan’s famously sweet mountain spring water and oxidized traditionally for three days before finishing to bring out rich chocolate notes. This year's spring was particularly cool with its start a full two weeks later than usual. Rich, full bodied and satisfying, Laoshan Black has become our benchmark for all other black teas.