Tea:

Region:

China

Grade:   

Special handmade peacock style

Manufacture Type:  

Hand rolled and formed

Cup Characteristics:

Some pungency. Delicious green tea character with delightful fruity-like early season flavor.

Infusion:  

Tending bright emerald green

CERTIFYING BODY: BCS - Oko Garantie - Germany
CERTIFICATE NUMBER: OR-6751/04.00/1283-VR
REFERENCE NUMBER: 2092/91 

Information:

Organic tea is produced without the input of chemical fertilizers or pesticides and herbicides. Unfortunately the yield per acre is lower and quite often quality can suffer compared to when fertilizers and others inputs are utilized. Nevertheless with good manufacturing techniques the cup characteristics can be maintained at a very high level - such is the case with this tea. This tea is a top quality Green Tea (‘Peacock #1’ showy, beauty, importance, good luck) with good ‘green tea’ taste properties - slightly vegetative and fruity, but refreshing and clean.

This superior quality Peacock #1 tea is exceptionally well graded. It is said that if you look closely at the infused leaf you will see the fan of the peacock’s tail feathers. This tea has a delightful fruity-like character which is on account of the plucking and time of year it is grown. The finest crop is plucked in the early season (March/April), before the May rains have swelled the tender leaves and the sun noon day sun stresses the tea bush to the point where it affects the flavor. This tea is plucked in the early season as the sun is just beginning to rise above the horizon. Plucking of new leaf is generally carried out by women who get up at 3 to 4 am and walk in groups to the fields. On the way they risk encounters with poisonous snakes and ‘nasty’ insects. To keep their spirits up they often sing songs such about their dreams and their loves. The last 2 lines of a popular Zhejiang folk song go as follows: ‘My spirit in a tizzy, I ordered that young man, by all means to await me in my dreams to come’.

Brewing Instructions:

Hot Tea Brewing Method: Can be used repeatedly - about 3 times. Use water about 180’F or 80’C. Place 1 teaspoon of tea in your cup, let the tea steep for about 1-3 minutes.- do not remove the leaves from the cup. Once the water level is low - add more water, and so on and so on - until the flavor of the tea is exhausted. Look at the pattern of the leaves in the brew, not only do they foretell your fortune but you can see the shoots presenting themselves, not unlike a peacock’s tail feathers fanning out.

Alternatively as with all top quality teas, scoop 2-4 teaspoons of tea into the teapot, pour in boiling water that has been freshly drawn (previously boiled water has lost most of its oxygen and therefore tends to be flat tasting), steep for 2-4 minutes (to taste), stir (the leaves will sink), pour into your cup but do not add milk or sugar since green tea is enjoyed ‘straight-up’.

Iced Tea Brewing Method: (to make 1 liter/quart) : Place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. Add ice and top up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste. [A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water.]