Straight, thin and evenly shaped
Appearance & Taste
The dry tea leaves are straight, thin and evenly shaped, and covered with abundant white fuzz.
Main Categories/Different Tastes: The fresh tea leaves are normally classified as spring tea, summer tea and autumn tea, depending on the growing season.
Spring tea
Xinyang Maojian picked in the spring is regarded as having the best quality.
Our Xinyang Maojian is Yuqian tea; it is therefore relatively affordable but still of good quality, and with a stronger taste than the more expensive Mingqian tea (see Green Tea Product 3 for more information).
Chunwei tea
Chunwei tea is picked around the end of the spring. Although by this time the tea tree has already been subjected to several pickings, Chunwei tea still tastes delicious. The tea leaves are slightly roughly shaped. Chunwei tea is normally consumed by local tea planters or lovers of bitter/strong tea. The price is much lower than for the Mingqian and Yuqian teas.
Taste: The taste is sometimes slightly bitter but always with a sweet aftertaste.
Summer tea
Summer tea is picked around the end of June/start of July. As the temperature rises, the tea leaves begin to grow rapidly. The soluble matter inside the leaves is reduced; meanwhile, the content of astringent substances such as caffeine, anthocyanin and tea polyphenols increases. Tea leaves picked in the summer are thicker and wider than in the spring. However, summer tea can stand longer brews, and is significantly cheaper.
Taste: The taste of summer tea is slightly bitter, and the aroma is not as good as that of spring tea.
Autumn tea
Autumn tea is picked after August; it is also called ‘White Dew Tea’. When the summer ends, the substances contained inside the tea leaves start to reduce. The leaves begin to turn yellow and become uneven in size.
Taste: The taste of White Dew Tea is not as delicate as that of spring tea but not as bitter as that of summer tea. Unexpectedly, it begins to return to its original natural aromas. It tastes savoury and mellow with a strong aftertaste.
2 TEASPOONS
80°C
2-3 MINS
ENJOY!
4 TEASPOONS
80°C
2-3 MINS
ENJOY!
8 TEASPOONS
80°C
2-3 MINS
ENJOY!
Adjust the amount of tea based on your own taste
Brewing Guide
Both the top-drop method and the bottom-drop method are suitable.
Top-drop:
- Warm the teaware with hot water. Discard the water afterwards
- Pour hot water (80°C) into the teaware until it is seven-tenths full
- Add 2 teaspoons of tea for tea cup/gaiwan (125ML), 4 teaspoons for glass (250ML) and 8 teaspoons for tea pot (500ML)
- Infuse tea for around 2-3 minutes, if using gaiwan gongfu, the first brew can be around 10s, the second time is around 20s, then gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brewing
- Drink until 1/3 of the tea is left before refilling
- Repeat a total ofthree times
- Gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brews.
Bottom-drop:
- Warm the teaware with hot water. Discard the water afterwards
- Add 2 teaspoons of tea for tea cup/gaiwan (125ML), 4 teaspoons for glass (250ML) and 8 teaspoons for tea pot (500ML)
- Pour hot water (80–85°C) into the teaware until it is one-third full
- Tilt the glass cup, slowly rotating it two times (this is to ensure a better infusion)
- Pour hot water (80–85°C) into the teaware until it is seven-tenths full
- Infuse tea for around 2-3 minutes, if using gaiwan gongfu, the first brew can be around 10s, the second time is around 20s, then gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brewing
- Drink until 1/3 of the tea is left before refilling
- Repeat a total ofthree times
- Gradually increase steeping time for subsequent brews.
Xinyang City, Henan province
Origin
Xinyang Maojian mainly comes from the Cheyun, Jiyun, Yunwu, Tianyun and Lianyun Mountain areas, Heilong and Bailong Pools, and Hejia Village in Shihe District, Xinyang City, Henan province. These areas are often summarised as ‘Five mountains, two pools and one village.
Xinyang has unique natural conditions promoting the cultivation of tea trees. The annual average temperature is around 15.1℃ and the annual rainfall is about 1,134.7mm. Daylight hours from April to November are around 1,592.5 (73% of the annual total).
The soil in the areas where Xinyang Maojian is cultivated is mostly yellow and black sandy loam. This type of soil is loose but thick, with greater humus content and higher fertility. The pH value of the soil is between 4 and 6.5. Most tea plantations are located at an altitude of 300-800 metres. The mountains are forested, with lush vegetation and abundant rainfall; they are usually cloud-covered, with high humidity (over 75%). The sun is weak and with shorter daylight hours. The temperature difference between day and night is large. Tea trees grow slowly, which leads to fleshy leaves, a richer white fuzz and greater accumulation of effective substance content. The region is located in high northern latitudes, and the annual average temperature is low, which is conducive to the synthesis and accumulation of nitrogenous compounds such as amino acids and caffeine.
Harvest & Production
Timing & Ingredients
Ingredients: One bud with one leaf, the highest grade.
Picking Time: Picking begins around the Spring Equinox ((Mar.20th, 21th, 22th) and ends around the Grain Rain (Apr.19th, 20th, or 21th). Tea made from the leaves picked between the Spring Equinox (Mar.20th, 21th, 22th) and Pure Brightness （Apr.4th, 5th, or 6th）is called ‘Mingqian tea’, which is considered to have the best quality and is sold at the highest price on the market.
Our Green Tip Tea belongs to Mingqian green tea.
Robert L. –
I am gifted this Green Tea by my sister.If I tell you my experience with this green Tea is really awesome. My stomach gets cleaned. I also feel less tired, lite and healthy.
Alannah R. –
It’s flavour is very pleasant very similar to a good loose leaf green tea, but with a bit more richness to the aftertaste. It also has a little more toastiness than regular green tea, like true Oolong.