Shanlu Green Tea

I recently treated myself to a rare Chinese tea called Shanlu Green Tea (山露綠茶). This beautiful, handmade tea is picked once a year in the hills surrounding Qi Shui village (汽水村) in China's Fujian province. It is know for having a distinctive sparkling sweetness and a hint of citrus aroma which is believed to come from the many lemon trees grown in the region.

The leaves look nice. They are mostly young leaf and bud sets with a humble pale green color and pleasant nutty smell. It's hard to believe that this totally normal looking Chinese green tea packs such a flavor punch!

a leaf and bud set

I used a heaping teaspoon per cup, 170° F water and a two minute steeping time. The resulting liquor had a vibrant green-yellow color and many more bubbles than any other green tea I've ever tried.

As advertised, the flavor was very sweet and bright with many unique citrus notes. In my tasting notes I had written: lemon rind, sparkly and sugary. I would not say that I love this green tea but it certainly was interesting.

Also, believe it or not, the Chinese say that Shanlu green tea has a higher than normal caffeine content then most other teas. I'm not sure why this is, but I definitely felt it. After tasting three infusions I was pretty buzzed. This might be a good tea to drink if you're into extreme sports.