Verdant Tea September Subscription Box (Spoilers!)

I am excited that the Verdant subscription boxes have shipped; I can’t wait to get mine! For anyone who wants to know what is in this month’s box, the details are below:

Autumn Harvest Laoshan Green: this tea is the first 2015 Autumn harvest of the He Family classic Laoshan Green. This harvest was picked and processed on September 15th and 16th, and then finished and packed and sealed on the 17th. It doesn’t get any fresher than this!

Autumn Harvest Laoshan Bilochun: this hand twisted Laoshan Bilochun was also picked especially for this Tea of the Month Club subscription box on September 14th. The process of hand twisting is more labor intensive than the He Family’s classic curled Laoshan Green, but the difference in process brings out beautiful nuance in the tea’s aroma and mouthfeel.

Reserve Autumn Laoshan Bilochun: When we ask Mr. He about his favorite Laoshan teas, he makes no secret that his favorite to grow, taste and share is his Bilochun-style green teas. It’s therefore no surprise that he chose to reserve his family’s very first Autumn harvest of 2015 as Laoshan Bilochun. Picked on September 8th, this completely hand finished tea is in very short supply and is usually set aside and saved for important local officials and dear friends. The He Family was determined to share this pride of their collection with all of you. The support of tea lovers like you has allowed the He Family to grow and innovate so much over the years, and this tea is one small way to say thank you.

Laoshan Pine Needle Green: This tea is another extremely exciting addition to this month’s subscription box, because this is a completely new experimental tea, developed by the He Family just this year! Early experiments with summer leaves proved so exciting, that Mr. He decided to dedicate one of his family’s early Autumn harvests to this new style, and to share it first with all of you in this subscription box. Essentially, this tea is a hybrid of Laoshan’s hand twisted Bilochun green teas and their Flat Pressed green teas. The leaves are carefully twisted by hand into a long “pine needle” shape. The resulting tea is distinct from all other Laoshan teas, especially in the way it captures those flavors and aromas that are unique to Laoshan’s terroir.

Reserve Laoshan Roasted Oolong: Since it’s invention just a few seasons ago, Laoshan Oolong teas have only grown in popularity both internationally and locally in Laoshan. The He Family has been sharing their techniques with their neighbors, and now five families in Laoshan are producing Laoshan Oolong, affectionately called “Dou Dou Cha” (little soy bean tea) by everyone in Laoshan, both for Laoshan teas’ unique “soy bean” aroma and for the oolong’s adorable rolled shape. This Spring, Mr, He reserved part of his family’s top grade harvests specifically to create this special reserve grade Roasted Oolong. We’ve never been able to offer such a high grade oolong tea from the He Family before, and we are so excited that they chose to share these special reserves with all of us in this first Tea of the Month subscription box.

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