First Flush "Competition Grade" Laoshan Green Tea

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Green Tea Leaves
Flavors
Caramel, Cashew, Cauliflower, Chestnut, Cinnamon, Creamy, Fish Broth, Grass, Green Beans, Herbs, Mineral, Nutty, Oats, Pistachio, Roasted Nuts, Round, Shellfish, Soybean, Spinach, Sweet, Tannin, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal, Viscous, Basil, Fennel, Flowers, Grain, Melon, Milk
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by derk
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 45 sec 3 g 7 oz / 200 ml

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3 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Spring 2022 harvest Shines western in glass with shorter steeps, like 1 minute or less. I tried brewing in a few different clay pots but that was a disaster, very bitter and drying even though I...” Read full tasting note
  • “This is a newly offered Laoshan tea from Yunnan Sourcing. It’s a early first flush tea picked before their normal first flush Imperial Grade tea. Not sure what makes this one Competition Grade...” Read full tasting note
    97

From Yunnan Sourcing

This is the very early flush of spring tea picked in the first 3 days in the early spring (Mid-March)! Very fine tea with a special taste that can only come from tea picked during such a cold time in Shandong! Incredibly textured and aromatic green tea! If you loved our Laoshan Classic or Imperial Green Teas, then you are sure to love this too!

Laoshan village is near Qingdao in the province of Shandong at an altitude of just 300 meters. Laoshan village is also near a sacred mountain, and not far from the ocean. Tea has been grown in Laoshan area for many generations. We are offering this “Imperial Grade” Laoshan Green tea made from the tippiest first flush of spring 2018 tea leaves.

Our Laoshan teas are grown by the Liang family, who have a small family operation growing Laoshan tea and doing all the processing of the tea themselves as well. You will notice that the tea is grown undercover of greenhouse which are fully covered in the winter to protect from frost and also in the earliest part of spring as well just as the leaves are starting to sprout. In the middle and later part of the first flush growth stage the coverings are removed and the tea bushes grow in full view of the sun until plucking.

Our Imperial Grade Laoshan green tea is small leaf, tippy (but without silver hairs) and tightly rolled, but not compressed like a Tie Guan Yin. The varietal grown is Long Jing #43 and as such the tea from Laoshan shares it character. The brewed tea is vegetal, sweet, savory with an umami-like green chestnut (bipolarity of astringency/savory and sweet).

We feel confident you will enjoy family-sourced Laoshan teas and invite you to try them all!

Area: Laoshan village near Qingdao in Shandong

Time of harvest: Mid-March

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

Company description not available.

3 Tasting Notes

1557 tasting notes

Spring 2022 harvest

Shines western in glass with shorter steeps, like 1 minute or less. I tried brewing in a few different clay pots but that was a disaster, very bitter and drying even though I was caring for the leaf. Bowl brewing is quite good. A manageable bitterness can sit at the bottom.

Leaf in hand smells like roasted chestnuts, understated caramel-vanilla-cream, blanched nettles and a surprising heavy undertone of cinnamon, not sharp but like it’s part of a dish that’s been cooked for hours. The brewed aroma is of roasted nuts, sweet and soft roasted chestnut, soybean and seafood umami.

Lightly viscous, clean and sweet vegetal-nutty-umami taste. Notes of soybean, pistachio, oats, cashew, stewed green bean and spinach, grass, seafood broth and a creamy tone reminiscent of cauliflower. No notable aftertaste or energy.

It’s less refined? than the Imperial Grade I went crazy about 4 years ago. More rounded and nutty, more seafood umami, less vibrant structure to the taste. I miss the sharpness of leeks, the chicken broth umami, the feeling of being surrounded by cypress trees on a foggy coastal cliff.

This has good longevity, though, and is very easy to drink.

edited: Had a lot of pent up emotion. Talking and writing weren’t cutting it. Typing it out was all i needed to clear my mind, as well as some kind words. Thanks :) I got this.

Flavors: Caramel, Cashew, Cauliflower, Chestnut, Cinnamon, Creamy, Fish Broth, Grass, Green Beans, Herbs, Mineral, Nutty, Oats, Pistachio, Roasted Nuts, Round, Shellfish, Soybean, Spinach, Sweet, Tannin, Umami, Vanilla, Vegetal, Viscous

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 0 sec 3 g 10 OZ / 300 ML
gmathis

Praying for you to be full of guts, gumption, and grace over the next few weeks!

derk

Thank you, that means a lot.

ashmanra

Praying and available if you need a listening ear!

Martin Bednář

derk I am sending you hugs and prayers… and…
Something about me:
I was in the very same boat as you. Never asking for help, because it felt like confessing I am weak and can’t do it myself. I was trying and trying and failing so often. School stuff, my panic attacks (I can beat them myself!), even some DIYs, driving and such. I CAN DO IT MYSELF in the best way.

Hell no! And I found that not so long ago. At work. That it is completely normal to say “I do not know.” “I need help.” or something like that. Be kind to others and others will be kind to you. Don’t forget to say thank you even for small things.

And now… yes — I do not do sales, but I have to decide for many things. How to pack things (hazmats too), which transport mode to use. How to label it accordingly. How to do not forgot to do anything. So many decisions are on my chest and sometimes it feels “yikes” but sometimes it fills me with pride that I was able to do it. The responsibility is hard for me though. I would be rather somewhere in the back-office where noone knows about me. Sometimes. Also, it’s up to me to write most of the English emails to everyone. From shipping issues, to fulfilling the orders from our subsidiary companies. Because “you are young and know English better than everyone.” So I just had to ask for credit note… while finances are nothing I want to work with.

Be strong and I am also available if you need to be listened by someone else. Ashmanra knows my rants :) but it is necessary.

mrmopar

We are just an email away if you need anything.

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97
676 tasting notes

This is a newly offered Laoshan tea from Yunnan Sourcing. It’s a early first flush tea picked before their normal first flush Imperial Grade tea. Not sure what makes this one Competition Grade but the flavor has more in common with the Imperial Grade than Classic Laoshan green tea.

I steeped 2.5g in a 120ml shibo 4 times starting with 180 F water and then the temperature was raised to 190 F. The dry leaves have a pleasant aroma of cilantro, lima beans, flowers, and milk. Wet leaf smells like asparagus mingled with an oat like nuttiness.

First steep (25s): crisp and delicate with notes of soy and green bean

Second steep (30s): same but with more body. it has a nice, clean taste without the strong oat and fennel flavors that Laoshan greens sometimes have.

Third steep (40s): used hotter water than I normally do yet tea was unaffected. no drop in flavor, but it hasn’t really evolved either. still has a nice freshness to it.

Fourth steep (50s): mellows out a little bit. still smooth and tasty

As expected, this was on the softer side flavor-wise, a typical characteristic of early picked tea. It holds up very well to hot water and has excellent staying power. Though I steeped it four times, I could have easily gotten another infusion or two out of it. The flavor remained constant throughout which is both good and bad. Good because the flavor doesn’t drop so soon, bad because there’s no evolution of flavor. Although a great tea, I do slightly prefer the second flush for its less refined but more assertive flavor.

Flavors: Green Beans, Oats, Soybean

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 0 min, 30 sec 2 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Ubacat

I only had this one once (only ordered 25g of this tea) and I brewed it Western style. It was really good, kind of reminded me a bit of a kamairicha but was thinking it would probably be even better brewed gongfu. Since you had such good results, I will have to try it out!

tanluwils

I found this year’s imperial grade to be more flavorful than previous years…and bolder than many of the green teas I’ve had this year. The aroma is very concentrated and complex.

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