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Laoshan tea is hands down my favorite Chinese green tea. It has every element that I love in green tea – grass, florals, umami, sweetness, and fruity flavors – in perfect harmony. Verdant tea, which specializes in teas from Laoshan, has been my source for ages, but with their spring harvest being delayed this year, I decided to give Yunnan Sourcing a try. I’ve been curious about their Laoshan teas for a while now and got both the Imperial Grade and Classic Laoshan green teas.

This tea has the signature Laoshan soybean aroma. When the leaves are placed in a warmed pot, more aromas of warm grass, soymilk, green bean, and edamame emerge. Wet leaf smells like roasted vegetables. The first steep is a luscious mix of cream, soybean, fennel, and floral hints. Really smooth and refreshing. The second steeping brings out more vegetation and some toasted grains. The last two infusions are less nuanced but still smooth without any bitterness.

I use a 2.5g of leaf to 120ml water ratio to brew this tea and steep times of 25s/30s/40s/55s. Temperature control is a key factor in getting the most out of it. I used to be afraid to push green teas past 175 F, but I’ve learned that most quality teas have good heat tolerance. This tea went from good to divine when I raised the temperature just 5 degrees to 180 F.

Today I threw a pinch of leaves in the tumbler to take to work and the resulting brew was amazing. Super floral and fruity with an almost honey like sweetness. Even after steeping the leaves for a long time, it did not turn bitter.

I don’t know if it’s this particular harvest or the farm, but this Laoshan green was fantastic and still reigns supreme among Chinese greens for me. Looking forward to doing a head-to-head tasting of this with Verdant once my pre-order arrives.