2022 Anhua Songzhen Green Tea

A Chinese green tea with an intense, rich flavor and thick texture

Anhua Songzhen Grüntee 

Harvest: 04/12/2022 

Origin: 800m above sea level in Anhua County

Anhua is a county in the mountains of Hunan Province, China. The place is best known for its traditional Heicha - Anhua Heicha. Anhua Songzhen is a new green tea that was first cultivated in 1959. It was an experimental green tea project for Heicha's hometown. I would say that the project is a great success judging by the taste, aroma and consistency of the tea.

The tea differs significantly from other famous Chinese green teas, which are valued for their freshness and brightness. Anhua Songzhen is very creamy, nutty, with a thicker liquid reminiscent of a Japanese tencha, a light gyokuro, or a green tea from South Korea.

Aroma: Roasted, nutty, a little buttery, refreshing like the skin of a honeydew melon

taste: nutty, creamy, subtly sweet like a candy corn, vegetal like a good nutty asparagus, no bitterness felt. 

 

If you are more interested in a lighter and more flowery green tea, then take a look at our green tea from Emei Shan: Meng Ding Gan Lu

Preparation:

To prepare the perfect cup of Anhua Songzhen, the water should be around 80˚C. Boiling water would prevent all of the flavors from dissolving. The taste wouldn't be nearly as intense.

• Then it depends on whether you like the tea in a traditional way or in a European way (Western style) prepare. Traditionally, about 5-6 g of tea is used for a small pot of tea (about 150 - 200 ml). About half is used for a gaiwan. According to the Western view of preparation, that seems far too much.

• Then pour the hot water over the tea. This first brew is just to warm up the cup and clean the tea a bit. You pour away the first infusion.

• Now you pour the water on again. For the second infusion, we recommend a brewing time of about 20-30 seconds.
  If you don't know the traditional preparation, it will seem very short. The taste is still intense due to the amount of tea that is used.

• When the time is up, drain the tea (water) completely into a cup. Now enjoy your 2nd infusion.

• For the 3rd infusion, fill your pot (or Gaiwan) again with hot water. This time you increase the brewing time to about 1 minute

• You can repeat this process between 5 times. Each time you increase the brewing time a little.

I don't think I need to describe the western preparation in such detail. You pour hot water over a few grams of tea (about 4-5 g) in a medium-sized teapot and wait 2-3 minutes. You can also enjoy the Long Jing tea well in this way. In comparison, however, the aroma of the traditional preparation is much more intense and richer. However, it also requires significantly more time and attention.

 

If you have a little more time, then you should really try the traditional tea preparation!

A suitable and traditional teau utensil for tea is a porcelain gaiwan.