The first tea I am reviewing from Guizhou! I came across this tea in a tea room and went for it. It was served in grandpa style (leaves floating in the tea glass), something I do not particularly enjoy especially in a well-equipped tea house. But here we are.
Chinese like to serve green tea in glasses to watch the ‘dance of the leaves’ when the hot water is added. I could not enjoy that neither as the leaves were soaked in the water already before it reached me. Too many complaints! Actually, it was quite expensive, so yes, I think it deserved a better presentation.
The aroma and flavours were not extraordinary. Standard green tea flavours of grass and vegetal notes, perhaps stronger in taste (but I might have felt that way due to the serving style). No astringency or no unpleasant astringency. But that’s pretty much it. So, I was curious to find out why this was the only green tea on the menu. Something has to be particular about it.
It is a selenium-rich green tea from Leigong Mountain in Guizhou with an elevation of 1300 – 1400 meters. This is an incredible height, and at that elevation, clouds and mist are present most of the time together with rainfall. All these factors contribute to the high selenium content in this tea. And as you may guess, selenium has multiple health benefits.
According to this research, it is mentioned that selenium-rich green teas have positive effects regarding their antioxidant ability in animals. Also, these teas have antioxidant and anti-ageing effects, which are comparably stronger than traditional green teas. The same research concluded that selenium may modulate a broad spectrum of critical biological processes, including the cellular response to oxidative stress.
Now I got it. It was a good find!
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5824815/
Tea Profile:
Type: Green
Origin: Leigong Mountain, Guizhou
Harvest time: 2019
Leaf colour: Bright green
Liquor colour: Light yellow
Tea aroma: Vegetal
Tea taste: Vegetal (peas) and grassy
Steeping/brewing: Place 4 g of this tea in a teapot or gaiwan and add about 150 ml water at around 80-85°C. Rinse after 5 sec. Steep for 15 seconds for the second time and increase the consecutive steeping time by 10 seconds each time. You can steep this tea up to three times. I do not recommend the grandpa style.
Shelf life: Up to two years.
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