Organic Yangtze Green Maofeng

This organic green maofeng vintage spring 2023 comes from Hubei and the gardens are in the hills about the famous/infamous dam. One very moving documentary is called "Up the Yangtze," directed by a young Canadian-Chinese, about the uprooting of families as the water level rose for the dam. The film follows one family as they become displaced, and unable to afford middle school tuition, their daughter is sent off to work on one of the tourist cruise ships that go up and down the Yangtze.

However, the tea gardens are high enough (above 400 meters) so that they were not affected. The best known feature of this region are the gorges.

The Chinese name of this green tea includes the characters Yu Lu, which is jade dew, the same words used for gyokuro. The de-enzyming process includes the use of steam, as with most Japanese green teas, and rather unusual for China greens which are mostly pan-fired. This accounts for the deep green color of the finished dry leaves.  This particular tea has had organic certification (European agency, not Chinese) for many years -- one of the first certified organics from China. Heat spring water to 175-185° and use 3g of dry leaves (approximately 1 rounded teaspoon) for every 6 ounces of water, steeping 3-4 minutes.

Maofeng Tea Garden at right -->