Chinese green tea is produced in thousands of varieties. Each province creates green tea using different techniques, varietals and terroir to express unique characteristics in the cup. The green leaves are pan-fired after picking to prevent the oxidation that would be required to produce black and oolong type teas. They make a light-bodied, pale coloured infusion and in the best types have mild flavours with floral notes and sweetness in the cup. The best qualities are high in the health-giving amino acid, theanine.
We carry most of the green teas from China's 'Famous Ten' teas in a range that represents most of the flavours green teas can deliver.
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As low as £8.00So-called because of the leaves resemblance to the ideal of the beautiful eyebrow shape in classical China. This is the highest grade produced and is from the original production area in the Jiangsu province of China near the Yangtze river. It has a fresh plum-like flavour, a tangy sweetness, and a rich, toasty aftertaste.
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As low as £7.00Perhaps the most famous of China's green teas due to its evocative appearance! Ours is the finest grade and when infused unfurls into large, tender tea leaves. It is known as Special Temple of Heaven. It gives a healthy and refreshing brew. The infusion is mild with subtle hints of smokiness.
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As low as £24.00As pure and sweet as its name would suggest, and the oldest of the 'Famous Ten' teas. The mist bound Inner mountain, Qi Tou produces the very best grade, with a lucid, bright infusion, high fragrance and long lasting aftertaste. It is usually picked around the 20th April. Its Chinese name, Guapian is due to the leaves resemblance to melon seeds. It is hand-picked and processed and is best made with filtered water in order to appreciate its strong aroma and fresh, green, clear liquor. It can be brewed several times, yielding a pure, sweet flavour like the tears of an angel.
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As low as £17.00Long Jing, also known as 'Dragon Well' has a full, sweet and aromatic flavour with a cleansing quality that reflects the natural way it is grown. It takes between 70 to 80,000 leaf and bud sets to make just 1kg. From Shi (Lion's) Feng Peak you can see a beautiful picture of fertile soil, flowing streams, dense trees, green bamboos dancing on the breeze and patches of tea gardens with clouds lingering around them.
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As low as £8.00This is our entry level Sencha from the second flush of teas. It is a fine green colour with a fresh, grassy fragrance and sweetish flavour. This fine quality tea is produced in the Japanese style on Japanese equipment but grown in China. There simply isn't any Japanese Sencha available in this price bracket. This is a great tea and offers very high flavour exceeding its price. We are keeping the teas under the Japanese heading to help you buy teas with the Japanese character rather than Chinese.
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As low as £8.50A fine Sencha tea flavoured with wild cherry oil and rose petals. This high-quality tea is produced in the Japanese style on Japanese equipment but grown in Zheijang, China. The sweet smell of the wild cherry evokes the famous display of spring blossom in Japan.
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As low as £15.00This is the very best, Tribute grade of one of China's favourite teas. It is grown in the beautiful national park area of Huangshan in Anhui. This pointed leaf tea yields a soft, sweet infusion with a flowery taste, reminiscent of the orchids which bloom at the same time the tea is made. You can see the marks left on the leaf where it is flattened between pieces of material. This tea was hand made by Mr. Hu, a tea farmer in Xinming area of Taiping County. This is where the Houkui tea was first grown in the fabled 'Monkey Chasm'.
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£1.90Flowering or blooming teas offers the tea fan an extraordinary experience: inside the ball there is an artfully embedded exotic flower. But the ball only reveals its secret when it is placed in a vessel with boiling hot water. It slowly begins to open and at the end of the brewing brings out the embedded flower, which rises from it in rich forms and colourfulness. This is a random assortment. Sold by the piece.
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Huo Qing tea was first produced in Yong Xi village in the Anhui province, home to many famous teas. Its dark, glossy leaves with an edge of yellow rolled into little snail-shaped pellets unfurl slowly as they infuse. It is called Jade Fire as the tea has been fired over charcoal. The distinctively rich and smooth floral flavour presents a pleasant balance of astringency and sweetness with a long and refreshing aftertaste. As it has been fired by charcoal during the process, it has a unique light sweet smokiness in the aroma. The rolling process, similar to Gunpowder has been carried out the same way for centuries.
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A tiny birds nest shaped cake made with succulent green shoots from the misty gardens of Yunnan. This paper wrapped compressed green tea yields a silky, golden-amber infusion. The aroma and flavour are complex, floral, fresh, wildflower meadow hay, sweet tobacco, and a delicate smoky note.
