This organic gunpowder comes from a camellia garden in the Zhejiang region. The origin of this tea and the rolled shape of the leaf are the only common points with another gunpowder that you can find in our offer. Just by visually comparing the two products, it can be seen that these organically grown leaves have a lighter colour, indicating that they have been cooked less intensively than the usual gunpowder. This process allows the plant essences contained in the organically grown leaf to be preserved and better expressed. By infusing this product you can also see that the leaves of the organic gunpowder are thicker than its namesake in our offer. This factor is influenced by selection during harvesting and, no doubt, also to some extent by less roasting.
The in-cup flavour of this gunpowder resembles that of a fibrous vegetable such as rhubarb. In the aftertaste there will not be an intense sweetness as in the other gunpowder in our range but there will be a more refreshing flavour and the sweet hints of some fruit peel. As mentioned before, there will be no smoky presence here due to the roasting, but instead you can feel, in the first sips, a soft-bodied infusion capable of leaving a buttery sensation on the palate. As you deepen your taste of this tea you will also come to feel a slight dryness similar to that in the aroma of some clays.
Place of origin
Zhejiang, China
Production
This green tea is processed in such a way that, after an initial withering in the open air, the leaves are cooked for quite a long time in large woks heated to a temperature of around 180°C to block enzymatic activity and prevent oxidation. After these stages the leaves receive their characteristic rolled shape and are left to rest so that they lose some of the residual moisture inside.
How to prepare
We highly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to best enjoy these leaves. Following this preparation you can use 4.5 grams of leaves (about 3 teaspoons) in a gaiwan of about 100 ml to obtain several infusions with different tastes. After a quick rinse of the leaves in water at 80°C, an initial infusion of 10 seconds can be made, after which, keeping the water at the same temperature, multiple infusions can be made, each time increasing the time by 5 seconds (10 – 15 – 20…).
This tea has a longevity of about 5 infusions.
For a classic preparation according to the Western style we recommend 2 grams of leaves (approx. 1 teaspoon) in a 150 ml cup with water at 80°C for an infusion time of one and a half minutes.
The tea can be filtered for easier tasting and also the above brewing times are purely indicative so can be adjusted according to personal taste.
Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.