Jaded Needle
Like the new kid at school, green tea in China these days is having a hard time finding a friend. Outside of the famous green tea regions, there are many other parts of China that have been quietly growing their own styles of green tea, mostly to be consumed by the local populace. Now that the younger generation has largely eschewed green tea, it has left many of the areas scrambling to find ways to attract new customers. Marketing has been the choice for some of these areas to find a way to stand out.
Having bought our lovely Enshi Green last year from Hubei, we stumbled across another green tea region a short drive away, in Wufeng. Besides this area's claim to fame being the Three Gorges Dam, it has heavily leaned into the idea of gushu green tea. Making the claim of harvesting tea from trees over 400 years old, Wufeng has tried to capitalize on the idea of gushu or ancient tree tea, which was popularized by puer in the 2000s.
But, anyone armed with a little knowledge of tea horticulture, will know that tea trees cultivated to be grown in the monoculture rows that many modern tea gardens are planted in, do not survive past 100 years.
Looking past this cynical marketing ploy, we decided to try multiple teas from farmers in this region. Mr. Hu's early spring tea was what stood above the rest. With notes of halwa, sunflower seeds and artichoke, this tea benefits greatly in using less than a normal green tea when brewing. It also stretches well past the standard four steeps for most green teas, giving even the most jaded of green tea drinkers something to smile about.
Teamaker - Hu Xiaolin
Location - Yuyangguan Town, Wufeng County, Hubei Prefecture
Harvest Time - March 27th, 2025
BREWING INSTRUCTIONS
- Gong Fu - This tea works best in porcelain vessels. Semi porous clay will mute some of the tea's top notes. Since a little goes a long way with this tea, we recommend filling to about a quarter of the vessel with dry leaf. Grandpa style brewing is also suggested, where less is more. Bonne chance!
- Western - Use 1 teaspoon per 8 oz of water. Add 175F water and steep for 4-6 minutes. Can be re-steeped a second time, adding 2-3 minutes to the original steep time.