Special Gunpowder China Green Tea

A review of Special Gunpowder China Green Tea by Temple of Heaven

Company: Temple of Heaven
Tea Name: Special Gunpowder China Green Tea
Tea Type/Varietal: Green
Region: Shanghai China
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ loose leaf
Plucking Season:
Liquor Color: light yellow-green
Leaf Characteristics: Tea leaves are tightly rolled pellets and smelling of smoke…roasted scent and when brewed leaves a fuller and smelling of spinach. Actually when brewed they do look like a plate of spinach. The Chinese call these small pellets “Pearl Tea”.

1. Steepings

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 190 Fahrenheit
Time: 2 minutes

This tea I purchased during my visit to the Living Earth market in Worcester, MA. It was very inexpensive and a gem in a little box. When I opened the box I thought I would find powder tea; I was pleasantly surprised to see it was leaves medium-finely crunched.

I took 1 teaspoon of the leaves and put this in my cup and add the boiled water into my cup. I leave it to steep for several minutes; after sometime, I take the tea and spoon out the leaves; they are somewhat fuller and look like spinach.

The teas’ aroma is that of green veggies and smells mildly astringent; tea’s color is light green with a yellow base and with longer steeps the tea is a golden brown. Tea tastes mild and smooth with a nutty flavor. It only gets bitter when tea leaves are left for longer in the cup as I tend to do; from being lazy in having to remove the tea leaves.

I had read and heard so much of gunpowder tea that it was a treat to finally see it in a store and the pricing was right as well; I did wonder why it was so inexpensive however. It is a good cup of refreshing green tea and I am happy to finally have sampled and purchase it.

I am fortunate this year since I have been able to experience finer teas than before.

Not ready to do a real rating of this one, but did try it today with lunch. I’m still scared of green tea, not totally sure how to approach it, so I jumped in and made a big cup. This was ok, pretty vegetal, though no more so than any other green I’ve had. It wasn’t bad with a spoon of sugar, and it’s definitely something I’ll be drinking as I continue to battle the forces of the cold my whole family has been through. I swear, my tea-drinking and yoga are keeping me in good hands.

I get this at my Asian Market at $5 for 17.5 oz, that said, it is not as bad as the price would lead you to believe. I suppose it is aimed at being sold in such bulk to restaurants and such. I use it primarily for making Kombucha and adding it to Yerbe Mate when I want a bitter twist.

Inside the green box is a little more than a pound of small, rolled green tea leaves, these will expand to 10 or more times their size once steeped, so dont use too many. Dark green, this gunpowder green tea smells very smokey, almost like Lapsang Souchong, though when brewed, the smokey taste is minimal.

On its own it is very versatile, for a floral yet buttery taste brew short, (2 min)it will be a nice yellow with a hint of amber, for the full flavor of this gunpowder green tea, go the full 4 minutes and drink the amber elixer, slightly astringent, yet roasted and buttery as well, I find myself appreciating the bitterness this tea exudes when steeped for longer amounts of time, but know that most tend to avoid that.

This tea is a great staple and still in another league than the cheap bulk boxed green tea, you really cant beat the quantity/quality for this price.

enjoy