Classic Laoshan Green Tea from Shandong * Spring 2018

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Green Tea Leaves
Flavors
Nutty, Olive Oil, Tangy, Vegetable Broth, Vegetal, Cream, Fennel, Floral, Green Beans, Soybean, Spinach, Umami
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 4 oz / 120 ml

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Ohh yeah, this is a winner. I did about 4g in my 120ml gaiwan, starting with 10 seconds then, uh, not really paying much attention but more time in the following steeps. There was nice evolution...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “Unlike many others, I seem to prefer the imperial grade version. I would nonetheless choose the classic one for a more casual session. It is more nutty and robust with a vegetal and tangy...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “Laoshan tea is hands down my favorite Chinese green tea. It has every element that I love in green tea – grass, florals, umami, sweetness, and fruity flavors – in perfect harmony. Verdant tea,...” Read full tasting note
    98

From Yunnan Sourcing

Laoshan village is near Qingdao in the province of Shandong at an altitude of just 300 meters. Laoshan village is also near a sacred mountain, and not far from the ocean. Tea has been grown in Laoshan area for many generations.

Our Laoshan teas are grown by the Liang family, who have a small family operation growing Laoshan tea and doing all the processing of the tea themselves as well. You will notice that the tea is grown undercover of greenhouse which are fully covered in the winter to protect from frost and also in the earliest part of spring as well just as the leaves are starting to sprout. In the middle and later part of the first flush growth stage the coverings are removed and the tea bushes grow in full view of the sun until plucking in the first week of April. Our Classic Laoshan Green is first flush flush tea, picked in April.

Our Classic Laoshan green tea is small leaf, tippy (but without silver hairs) and tightly rolled, but not compressed like a Tie Guan Yin. The varietal grown is Long Jing #43 and as such the tea from Laoshan shares it character. The Classic Laoshan taste is thick, pungent, savory and vegetal. It’s perhaps slightly less sweet than the first flush Imperial Grade, having slightly larger and thicker leaves gives this tea a more robust flavor. Many seasoned tea drinkers might appreciate the niceties of the the more elegant Imperial Grade, but may find themselves wanting to drink the Classic grade for it’s pungent green taste (which is very stimulating). I find the classic grade to be very enjoyable and a worthy counterpoint to the daintier Imperial grade.

We feel confident you will enjoy family-sourced Laoshan teas and invite you to try them all!

Area: Laoshan village near Qingdao in Shandong

Time of harvest: April 2018

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3 Tasting Notes

85
14 tasting notes

Ohh yeah, this is a winner. I did about 4g in my 120ml gaiwan, starting with 10 seconds then, uh, not really paying much attention but more time in the following steeps. There was nice evolution and development through the process! Great aromas and a really cool bright/lime green liquor!
I woke up feeling groggy and a bit sick, and after enjoying 5 or so infusions of this tea, I’m in a far better place! It’s got the typical green tea aroma in that it’s grassy with hints of sweet corn, but it adds a lovely nuttiness alongside a slight, and enjoyable, sourness. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it just about fulfills everything great about green tea. Similar to the Classic Laoshan Black, it has a really nice energy! I feel both energized and soothed—this is the wonderful duality of tea.
I’ve had a few greens, and this is one of the most enjoyable. I really like Longjing, and this provides a nice change from that style while maintaining an interesting experience that Longjing provides.
Highly recommended, another winner from Scott and the Yunnan Sourcing team!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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83
984 tasting notes

Unlike many others, I seem to prefer the imperial grade version. I would nonetheless choose the classic one for a more casual session. It is more nutty and robust with a vegetal and tangy aftertaste, while the imperial grade is more delicate, complex and with more pronounced umami & grassy notes.

I find that this one is slightly closer to some of the other Chinese green teas, whereas imperial grade is somewhat more in the direction of Japanese greens. However, that’s not really a fair comparison.

Flavors: Nutty, Olive Oil, Tangy, Vegetable Broth, Vegetal

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 1 min, 0 sec 4 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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98
676 tasting notes

Laoshan tea is hands down my favorite Chinese green tea. It has every element that I love in green tea – grass, florals, umami, sweetness, and fruity flavors – in perfect harmony. Verdant tea, which specializes in teas from Laoshan, has been my source for ages, but with their spring harvest being delayed this year, I decided to give Yunnan Sourcing a try. I’ve been curious about their Laoshan teas for a while now and got both the Imperial Grade and Classic Laoshan green teas.

This tea has the signature Laoshan soybean aroma. When the leaves are placed in a warmed pot, more aromas of warm grass, soymilk, green bean, and edamame emerge. Wet leaf smells like roasted vegetables. The first steep is a luscious mix of cream, soybean, fennel, and floral hints. Really smooth and refreshing. The second steeping brings out more vegetation and some toasted grains. The last two infusions are less nuanced but still smooth without any bitterness.

I use a 2.5g of leaf to 120ml water ratio to brew this tea and steep times of 25s/30s/40s/55s. Temperature control is a key factor in getting the most out of it. I used to be afraid to push green teas past 175 F, but I’ve learned that most quality teas have good heat tolerance. This tea went from good to divine when I raised the temperature just 5 degrees to 180 F.

Today I threw a pinch of leaves in the tumbler to take to work and the resulting brew was amazing. Super floral and fruity with an almost honey like sweetness. Even after steeping the leaves for a long time, it did not turn bitter.

I don’t know if it’s this particular harvest or the farm, but this Laoshan green was fantastic and still reigns supreme among Chinese greens for me. Looking forward to doing a head-to-head tasting of this with Verdant once my pre-order arrives.

Flavors: Cream, Fennel, Floral, Green Beans, Soybean, Spinach, Umami

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 45 sec
matthewjhale

Any thoughts on leaf quality? Mine seem to be very broken. Maybe this is just a result of the rolling? Either way, the tea is still very enjoyable.

LuckyMe

The leaf quality of mine seemed okay. Mostly full leaf with bits and dust at the bottom which is normal. Perhaps yours got crushed somewhere along the way? Broken leaf tea can still be good if you adjust your infusion times.

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