Guzhu Zi Sun – Ming Qian

We specially commission this wild handmade Guzhu Zi Sun from a lost imperial tea garden. In Jianli’s 20 year experience visiting tea farms all over China, this is her favorite place, a Changxing ancient tea garden. It’s the best tea-growing environment she’s ever seen. To match the excellent material, we insisted on making the tea purely by hand. The producer is our close friend and has decades of experience. He definitely delivered!

The dry leaf smells like fresh air with a subtle sweetness hiding beneath. Once placed in a warmed gaiwan, some roastiness is revealed, mingled with vanilla sweetness and the elusive smell of fresh tea fuzz. The liquor is a light yellow-green and the brothy richness is immediately apparent on the nose. A light, but full-bodied aroma! The flavor is clean, bright, and fresh with just the right balance of that thick amino acid brothiness that we could smell gently asserting itself over a delicate, difficult to describe fresh green-ness that has no hints of rawness, bitterness, or astringency. The mouthfeel is supremely thick, and don’t forget to give the brewed leaf a smell. They have a thick fresh soupy aroma that will make you weep!