Verdant Tea

This bundle includes five caffeine-free wild-foraged herbal teas for 125g total. The He Family in Laoshan is bringing green tea craft to wild-foraged caffeine-free herbals picked within the Laoshan Ecological Preserve in extremely limited quantities. This kit is an introduction to the way that tea craft brings nuance, depth and complexity to plants beyond camellia sinensis, and offers satisfying diverse and fully caffeine-free flavors perfect for any time of day. The He Family is dedicated to sustainable agriculture, and meticulous hand-finishing craft in the workshop. This kit is an invitation to see their craft in action, from rich sweet jujube to fruity and creamy huai hua blossoms.

The He Family is continuing their tradition again this year of wild-foraging caffeine-free native Laoshan herbs and using their expertise at green tea processing to finish the leaves like a traditional green tea. While Shandong native Lu mulberry leaf would normally be simply air-dried for use in medicinal tea, the He Family has applied withering, heat-fixing, curling and tumble-drying to bring out much richer and more subtle flavor through their craft. We are excited to share the He Family's herbal teas once again this spring season, and to offer a look at the flavor of Laoshan from another plant entirely different from camellia sinensis!

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. This year's Sweet Potato Leaf tea is a collaboration between the whole neighborhood (the He Family District) and the He Famiy's workshop. Working together, several families picked Laoshan sweet potato leaves, then used the He Family's guidance and technique to oxidize the leaves in the sun, wither and roast, similar to black tea processing. This year, the cooperative 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.

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 with a striking barley and walnut flavor. 

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 green 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.

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 delicious flavor and complexity.

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 another experimental tea from the He Family!