GUD BLOG: SINGLE POST

A Handful of Premium Chinese Tea

Yunnan is the southern Chinese province bordering Vietnam and believed to be the birthplace of tea. It produces more black tea than any other part of China. For a unique cup try Yunnan’s black tea version of the popular Dragon Pearl. The large leaves are rolled into firm spheres of brown and gold and as the pearls steep they unfurl and release a liquor that is sweet and smooth with a hint of fertile soil. Deep aromas of malted barley swirl around more subtle notes of cocoa. It’s tasty hot or cold.

From the mountains of Qimen County in the Anhui province of eastern China comes a black tea comparable to the famous Darjeeling. Keemun (the English spelling of Qimen during the colonial era) is the name. Hao Ya A (Downy Buds Grade A) is the highest grade possible and the tea you want in your cup. The tiny black leaves with golden buds produce aromas and flavors that have been described as floral, port wine, pine smoke, biscuits and orchard fruits, in other words, complex. It makes a kick-ass iced tea, too.

Known to embody the essence of Taiwan’s mountains and rivers, Dongding oolong tea immediately engages with a nose of sultry blooms, mown grass and water crackers. Grown in Nantou County of central Taiwan, Dongding is the most popular tea on the island. Only partially oxidized and lightly roasted, the tight, curled leaves expand several times and last through numerous steepings. A cup is clear, pale yellow touched by green. A full and gently sweet body belies its delicate appearance. It makes a fine, balanced iced tea.

Black tea from the Fujian province on the southeast coast of China, Lapsang Souchong is one of the more unique teas you’ll ever come across. Dried in bamboo baskets over burning conifer, it is redolent of sap and smoky campfires. These aromas combined with the sweet and tangy liquor create a sip reminiscent of the wet decay of a cedar forest. A quality Lapsang Souchong is a transcendent drink for those of us captivated by all things smoked. Drinkers into highly-peated Scotch should dig it. It’s also handy in the kitchen for flavoring everything from vegetarian stew to oven-baked ribs.

Since the Eastern Han Dynasty the Chinese have been taking broad leaf tea from around the southwestern province of Yunnan, fermenting it and then compressing it into bricks or cakes. The finished product can be drunk immediately but if made well it can mature into a dark, mellow and unique tea fragrant with dried fruit, mushrooms, camphor and flowers. As with wine, only finely made and properly stored pu-erh teas will improve with age and increase in value.

To sample and learn about high quality tea in a relaxing atmosphere, check out Goldfish Tea in Royal Oak.

Posted on 2011.06.22 by Todd Abrams at 12:50 pm
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