I received this tea in the form of a free 4 gram sample that was included in a recent order I made over at House of Tea.

Despite the fact that Lu An Gua Pian is included in virtually any list of famous Chinese teas, up until now I had never actually had any. It just sort of slipped through the cracks. There was always some other pretty cargo of leaves calling for my attention, and as anyone who has read more than three posts on this blog will by now have twigged onto, when it comes to tea, I am very easily distracted.

Still, no time like the present, and all that…

According to House of Tea’s notes these leaves come from Xian Hua Ling township, Jin Zhai county, Lu’an prefecture, An Hui province, and grew at an elevation of 800 metres. The leaves were harvested in the spring of 2019.

First things first – this mini session came at a time when I was somewhat under the weather. I strongly suspect that my senses were blunted enough for me to miss some of what was on offer here, but I still nevertheless picked up a few good pointers.

The liquor had a garden pea, sweet vegetal top end, with no discernible bitterness lurking in the shadows. I also felt a sort of peppery flick to the tip of my tongue as well as the back of my throat.

Quite a few sources mention this tea undergoing a complex roasting procedure, and I wonder if I was picking up hints of that as well as a touch of nuttiness through the fog.

As always, I think you should give small samples such as this plenty of wiggle room as well as the benefit of the doubt when assessing them as potential future purchases.

Given that, I’d certainly like another session with these leaves, but at a time when I’m not simultaneously coughing, sneezing, and hiccuping. That session’s also going to have to wait until I’m more in the mood for this kind of green tea, and that means next spring, in all likelihood.

Still, I’ve waited so long to get to grips with this tea, what’s a few months more, hmmm?

Watch this space, etc…