Imperial Grade "Gan Zao Ye" Wild Jujube Tea from Laoshan Village * Spring 2017

Tea type
Herbal Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Chocolate, Grass Seed, Irish Cream, Bread, Butter, Caramel, Carrot, Honey, Mushrooms, Nutty, Peanut, Roasted Barley, Seaweed, Smoke, Spinach, Sugarcane, Toasted Rice, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal, Walnut, Alcohol, Bark, Bitter, Medicinal, Oak, Sawdust, Strawberry, Sweet
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by eastkyteaguy
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 5 oz / 140 ml

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6 Tasting Notes View all

  • “This is absolutely my favorite herbal tea at the moment. At first I was turned off because I brewed it at boiling. However, when brewed at 85C western or in a Testubin to boiling (I recommend the...” Read full tasting note
    100
  • “Here is a review I have been dragging my feet on for weeks. I am finally on the verge of finishing a 25g pouch of these Laoshan jujube leaves with the intent of polishing off the remainder...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “This jujube leaf is remarkably similar to the one offered by Verdant Tea. The dry leaf smelled a little different but it had all the same taste notes using the same parameters with short steeps in...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “Today I tried to blend this with orange blossoms, 3.5g & 1g of each respectively. The dry leaf aroma is dominated by the orange blossoms, their scent is more pungent. Same deal with the wet...” Read full tasting note
    82

From Yunnan Sourcing

Gan Zao Ye (甘枣叶) or Wild Jujube Tea is a herbal tea made from wild jujube plants picked in the spring of this year in Laoshan Village area of Shandong. Laoshan Village is also the home to some wonderful green and black teas. Wild Jujube grows at an altitude of 600-1000 meters and is picked in the month of April and May

Wild Jujube has been used for centuries as a sleep aid, combatting anxiety and depression. In addition to being a nerve tonic, it’s also caffeine-free (but high in L-Theanine) making it the perfect tea to enjoy in the evenings or any other time when seeking a tranquil state of mind.

The taste is soupy and very thick, it has notes of barley, jiaogulan-like sweetness, and long-lasting rich taste. The aroma is fruity and very sweet, filling the room with a baked fruitcake type aroma.

Our Imperial Grade Gan Zao Ye is picked when the leaves are young and tender in April and then carefully processed to preserve their fine state. Imperial Grade Wild Jujube is uniquely tender and looks like a high grade green tea at first glance, uniform in size with few stems when dry.

Recommended brewing:

Strainer Brewing – 85C Spring Water – Put 6 grams in a strainer atop a glass cha hai (公道杯) and slowly pour the water over the tea letting it drain into the cha hai. Keep adding water slowly until the tea loses it’s flavor.

Gong Fu Brewing – 85C Spring Water – Put 5 grams per 100ml gaiwan or glass teapot and brew with a 10 second infusion for the first steeping, then add 10 seconds for each subsequent infusion

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

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6 Tasting Notes

100
24 tasting notes

This is absolutely my favorite herbal tea at the moment. At first I was turned off because I brewed it at boiling. However, when brewed at 85C western or in a Testubin to boiling (I recommend the second option), it’s amazing! The tea has notes of milk chocolate, rich cream, and sunflower seeds. Plus, it’s insanely healthy as a bedtime tea as it’s a good source of L-Theanine and Oleamide.

Flavors: Chocolate, Grass Seed, Irish Cream

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 30 sec 3 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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92
1048 tasting notes

Here is a review I have been dragging my feet on for weeks. I am finally on the verge of finishing a 25g pouch of these Laoshan jujube leaves with the intent of polishing off the remainder tonight. I know I have made it no secret that I loved the other spring 2017 Yunnan Sourcing wild jujube tea I tried, but oddly, this higher grade jujube tea did not wow me quite as much. It was still a great offering, but it just lacked a little strength, smoothness, and liveliness compared to its lower grade counterpart.

I prepared these jujube leaves gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose jujube leaves in 4 ounces of 185 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 20 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 9 minutes, 12 minutes, 15 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry jujube leaves emitted aromas of roasted barley, roasted walnut, toasted cashew, and spinach. After the rinse, I noted new aromas of turnip greens, toasted rice, smoke, and roasted carrot to go along with a slightly amplified spinach scent. The first infusion introduced aromas of cabbage, collard greens, and mushroom. In the mouth, the fairly thick liquor presented notes of smoke, roasted barley, roasted walnut, toasted cashew, turnip greens, and roasted carrot that were framed by hints of cabbage, mushroom, honey, vanilla, and sugarcane. The subsequent infusions introduced aromas of seaweed, butter, vanilla, onion, roasted peanut, and caramel. Toasted rice notes came out in the mouth along with stronger impressions of honey, cabbage, mushroom, sugarcane, and vanilla. I also picked up on very subtle collard green hints and new impressions of minerals, butter, roasted peanut, onion, baked bread, radish, caramel, and umami. Seaweed notes came out subtly on each swallow. By the end of the session, I could still pick up on notes of minerals, spinach, collard greens, butter, vanilla, umami, sugarcane, and roasted carrot that were chased by delicate hints of honey, roasted barley, roasted walnut, seaweed, and turnip greens.

Like the previous Yunnan Sourcing Laoshan jujube tea that I tried, this was a great offering. This, however, was a softer, subtler, and less consistently sweet jujube tea. There was also something of an occasional sharpness to some of its vegetal characteristics that I do not recall getting from the other offering. Still, these are actually fairly minor quibbles as I think fans of wild jujube would be very pleased with this offering. Check it out if you are at all into tisanes.

Flavors: Bread, Butter, Caramel, Carrot, Honey, Mushrooms, Nutty, Peanut, Roasted Barley, Seaweed, Smoke, Spinach, Sugarcane, Toasted Rice, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal, Walnut

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML

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90
1557 tasting notes

This jujube leaf is remarkably similar to the one offered by Verdant Tea. The dry leaf smelled a little different but it had all the same taste notes using the same parameters with short steeps in a gaiwan at 175F. I picked up on roasted broccoli, potato skins, potato, brownies, edamame, light sweet cream, a red fruit, vanillin and a pleasant lingering sourness.

The only noteworthy difference between the two was this YS jujube was much less sweet, which I greatly appreciated. I feel like that allowed for a silkier body to come through, still reminiscent of a lightly sweetened, watered down vanilla oatmilk. This one also seemed like a better herbal replacement for green tea.

I’m definitely inclined to purchase YS’s jujube over Verdant’s, but if you like your teas super sweet like Verdant’s other Laoshan offerings, I say go for that one. I’m going to have to drop my rating on that one to compensate for how much I appreciate the lack of persistent sweetness in this YS offering.

Thanks for the pleasant nightcap, Togo.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
eastkyteaguy

I was tempted to lower my rating for Verdant’s gan zao ye myself after trying this one.

derk

little devil derk on your shoulder prods doooo iiiiit

I get the feeling you don’t respond to peer pressure.

eastkyteaguy

derk, you would be correct.

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82
943 tasting notes

Today I tried to blend this with orange blossoms, 3.5g & 1g of each respectively. The dry leaf aroma is dominated by the orange blossoms, their scent is more pungent. Same deal with the wet leaves, although to a lesser degree. I feel that subleties of the jujube aroma are mostly hidden by the floral orange fragrance.

On the other hand, the taste has a great balance. I might like it more than the jujube alone, I am not sure. It is quite different that’s for sure though. As expected, the floral aspects are attenuated, but are not overpowering. I especially like the aftertaste in which the complex fruity & nutty characteristics of jujube blend nicely with the tangy & floral blossoms.

I definitely think this was a successful experiment. The scent became a bit more dull, but I think both the taste and aftertaste are more balanced like this. Whether it’s a more pleasurable experience probably depends on the mood and the occassion. Nevertheless, I am glad to have the option of mixing it up a little with this late night tea of mine, especially given that today’s addition – the orange blossoms – is caffeine free too!

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 0 min, 30 sec 4 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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