We are so excited to have this delicious tea again for 2021.
It has been one of our most popular spring green teas for two decades now.
We expect that it will sell quickly, so don’t miss out on this year’s harvest
(the excellent 2021 harvest)
Buddha’s tea has all of the appealing, lush qualities of a fresh, delicate, sweet eastern China spring green tea. In the cup, this tea has that delicious ‘special something‘ year after year, and we think that our 2021 batch of Jiu Hua tea is definitely among the most notable harvests of this glorious tea that we have seen in recent memory. This tea never disappoints in sheer deliciousness. The leaf is large and bulky, so be sure to use enough to obtain the pure, sweet taste! This year’s Fo Cha is on the subtle side, in the Chinese Spring Green Tea tradition, but it has incredible depth of flavor and is the epitome of smooth.
We learned years ago that the PQM version of this leaf is far too subtle for most of our Western palates (and it is wicked expensive because it is so cherished in China); so we choose to feature one of the early Yu Qian plucks of this exquisite leaf. The leaf from the bridge between these two Spring Green Tea seasons is therefore our perfect solution to achieve maximum sweetness in the cup combined with a mature flavor that shows the terroir of this unique place (Jiuhua Shan).
Buddha’s tea has a high chlorophyll content that gives this tea a high degree of ‘umami‘ ( the 5th element of taste). This means that the tea liquor has a buttery soft, mouth-filling, satisfying texture in the cup.
We love Buddha’s tea and drink it to start many a morning. The green teas from this part of Anhui Province are very special – they are delicious and lovely in appearance, clean and clear in flavor, and enticingly aromatic and sweet.
Tea from the Jiu Hua Mountain is not very well known in the West – nor in China, either, for that matter. Jiu Hua Mountain – the birthplace of this Fo Cha tea – holds special memories for us. On our first tea buying trip to China we visited the Zhan Tian Buddhist Temple and were invited to join the Head Monk for their Temple Dinner (a vegetarian meal, of course) one evening, plus an audience after. It was a ‘farm to table’ experience long before that term was coined! Later, we had a midnight tour of the bustling Jiu Hua Mao Feng Factory (yes, they work “around the clock” during prime harvest season).
Fo Cha is the local name for this tea. The Jiu Hua mountain is a magical place of dense woods, waterfalls, bamboo forests, and green tea that is imbued with a refreshing sweetness from the special environment of this rarefied place. Remote and densely forested, and filled with caves and ancient temples, Jui Hua has always held an attraction for monks and other ascetics. The mountain has been named one of the four most important Buddhist mountains in China.
Tea has been made here for over 700 years. This variation of Fo Cha is a customer favorite for us year after year. The raw leaf material is comprised of two leaves and a bud – which makes it a perfect mao feng pluck. This is a beautiful tea- it is stylish in appearance, very well-made and distinctive. The leaves are very long and light, so be sure to use enough when steeping.
Fans of Anji Bai Cha green tea, listen up !
Our Jiu Hua Fo Cha tea is similar in appearance and flavor sweetness to Anji Bai Cha but at a lower price. They are both excellent examples of China Spring Green Tea and worthy of your attention! We enjoy tasting them side-by-side or on alternate mornings.
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Seasonal Teas