Guzhang Maojian is a real show-stopper green tea. It ranks among the very special, delicious green teas that we have sourced over the years, and we are excited to have it again for 2021. It is an extremely reliable and well-keeping tea that will show its exquisite flavor well past the time that the next year’s harvest is in. This is such a great attribute for a green tea, as so often they do not hold well for more than 9-10 months post harvest.
The flavor of Guzhang Maojian is best summed up in one word: smooth. It is appropriately vegetal in the cup so as to qualify as an elegant hearty Hunan green tea, but the smoothness is its hallmark; it is actually very unusual to have a green tea that is both vegetal and smooth at the same time with a rich body and mouth feel. The aroma is clean and pure – the essence of ‘tea’.
Teas from Hunan Province tend to be black teas, as with the Qimen (Keemun) region; however, both tea areas actually started with a history of green tea production and black tea was an offshoot, although their major harvest today. The green teas from Hunan tend to show a fullness and well-balanced flavor profile that is quite focused and thirst-quenching.
This leaf has a ‘dusty’ grey/green coloration – the classic color of many western China green teas. This color is determined by the varietal of tea plant that it is harvested from, in combination with the strong sunlight that is present early in the season in this part of China. The leaf will develop a beautiful artichoke green when re-hydrated during steeping.
Fans of our Lu Shan Yun Wu, En Shi Yu Lu, and Rizhao Xueqing green teas should like this tea, as well as anyone who is looking for a tasty, rich green tea.
Guzhang Maojian is an historically important varietal tea, because Hunan Province has been known for exquisite green tea for about as long as tea has been cultivated in China. Hunan Province was one of the first places that tea bushes were taken for transplanting following their successful cultivation in Sichuan Province, its neighbor to the north. Hunan Province is, in many ways, the perfect location for the manufacture of premium tea. For much of history, however, the green teas manufactured there have been reserved strictly for the domestic market.
Today, Hunan Province’s green teas, along with its black tea, coffee crop, and world-famous vegetable harvests, showcase the province as being, in many ways, the organic center of agricultural Mainland China.