Description

The CLUBBOX @ Siam Tea Shop

The SiamTeas Club Box is a flexible format for bundling several types of tea in generously proportioned tasting size on a monthly basis at a preferential price. The 4thd edition – April 2022 – is a “6-‘LÜ-CHA’ Box”. As such, it offers a representative cross-section of the world of single-variety Chinese green teas. Accordingly, the box’s spectrum ranges from famous Chinese green tea classics such as Long Jing (Dragon Well), Mao Feng or Mengding Ganlu to comparatively modern cultivars such as Anji Bai Cha to some Chinese green tea specialties less known in the west so far, such as Anhua Song Zhen or Enshi Yü Lü. At this, there’s particular emphasis on Chinese green teas unfolding their full potential best at infusion temperatures around 90°C.

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Accordingly, the March Clubbox 2022 (6-‘LÜ-CHA’ Box) offers 15g each of the following 6 single-variety Chinese green teas:

1. Pre-Qingming Long Jing Green Tea

Long Jing Green Tea is the eternal No. 1 among the “10 Great Teas of China”. Our Pre-Qingming Spring Long Jing Green Tea comes from a natural tea garden in the outskirts of Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Here, the early April pickings – before the Chinese “Qingming” festival – are the annual picking cycle’s best quality. The scent of the narrow, flat-pressed leaves already hints at the chestnut aroma of Long Jing tea, complemented by a hint of orchid fragrance. In the clear, bright green infusion the densely haired tea leaves develop the characteristic, nutty-sweet taste of roasted chestnuts. To this, in turn, the pre-Qingming picking adds an intensely fresh floral note.

2. Qingming Anji Bai Cha Green Tea

Our Anji Bai Cha Green Tea comes from natural cultivation in a “high mountain” tea garden in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China. The rare, Anji-native tea plant variety has its name (Anji Bai Cha = Anji “white tea”) from the white color of its early spring buds. The plucking is possible only once a year in April. Towards the end that month then, the buds will eventually turn green. The best quality is the tea from the first days of April (“Qingming”), featuring a “1+1” picking standard (1 bud + 1 leaf).

3. Mengding Ganlu Green Tea

Mengding Ganlu from Mengding Shan, Ya’ An, Sichuan, is considered to have been the first cultivated tea ever. Because of its exclusive picking specifications, picking is limited to a few days in early spring only. Tea connoisseurs consider this tea from the peaks of Mount Mengshan one of the most exquisite Chinese green teas. The tea’s wealth of flavors unfolds from the tip of the tongue across all spheres of the gum. At this, the perception of spring-like freshness changes to a complex spectrum of floral notes to mild and sweet chestnuts in the long lingering finish.

4. Enshi Yü Lü “Jade Dew” Green Tea

Enshi Yu Lu is a classic green tea from the Chinese province of Hubei. Its picking season falls in the second half of April, with a picking standard of 1+2. Special for this type of green tea, also know as “Chinese Gyokuro”, is the oxidation stop performed through steaming instead of roasting. At this, the gentle steaming ensures the optimal preservation of the active ingredients in the tea leaf. The jade-green-yellow cup wins over the connoisseur with a complex, vegetal-spicy bouquet, reflecting in the tea’s taste, playfully surrounded by fresh spring-floral notes.

5. Anhua Song Zhen Green Tea

Anhua Song Zhen is a green tea from an organic tea garden in Anhua, Hunan. A special feature of the variety is the eponymous needle shape of the processed tea leaves. This is reminiscent of pine needles (“song hen”) also in terms of color. The dry tea leaf’s mild and sweet, slightly hay-like aroma gains both in complexity and depth through the bright yellow-green cup’s sweet maroni notes.

7. High Mountain Mao Feng Green Tea

The ‘Mao Feng’ 1+1 picking standard, picked at the time when bud and leave have the same length, is considered as one of China’s most exquisite green teas. Our High Mountain Mao Feng Green Tea comes from an Eco-Diversity tea plantation located at altitudes of more than 1000 meters in Chunan County, Zhejiang. The bright green, tight and slim, slightly twisted tea leaves and buds exude a pleasant, fresh orchid fragrance. Tastewise, our Mao Feng Green Tea convinces with its exquisite ‘High Mountain’ character: the downright tantalizing freshness of its high floral notes, paired with a long lingering sweetness and a touch of a nutty flavor.

For more information about green tea and its processing follow the link below: