For All the Tea in Charleston

Green Tea: Gua Pian

Grassy and lightly toasted, buttery texture, sugary undertone

Gua Pian (“Melon Seed”) describes the shape of the freshly picked leaves. This is the only green tea in China where only the leaves are picked and used in the processing. The unique flash baking step, referred to as Hong Qing, solidifies all the notes and gives the tea a nice layer of toastiness. The comprehensive profile of umami, grassy, floral, along with the gentle sweetness reminds us of a combination of matcha and gyokuro. 

The varietal, Ben Cha (Heirloom), originates in Qi Shan, Lu An, An Hui Province, China. Qi Shan, part of the Da Bie mountain range, is the top terroir for Gua Pian. Lu An, is one of the oldest tea-making regions in China with over 1000 years of tea-making history. Still, Gua Pian has existed for approximately 100 years, making it reasonably young by tea variety standards. 

During the later years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), Gua Pian was a Tribute Tea to the royal court, which meant that both the processing technique and its specific terrior was highly documented and defined. Gua Pian is one of China’s Ten Famous Teas, which is an official status in China. This tea is also known as Lu An Guapian Green Tea and Melon Seed Tea.

Health benefits: includes a rich amount of Catechins and Epicatechins which are antioxidants. These compounds belong to a group of plant chemicals called Flavonoids. Polyphenols are present which are packed with antioxidants. The amino acid L-Theanine is present. Caffeine is present in Gua Pian.