Welcome to the March 2025 edition of the Curious Tea subscription! Here’s a closer look at the four exciting new teas that we are sharing with our subscribers this month.
For the lighter side of the selection we start with a classic Chinese green tea from the very north of the country’s tea growing belt in Laoshan of Shandong Province. The next light tea we selected this month is from Japan and is a pan-fried Tamaryokucha from Fuji that is specifically processed for very high GABA content.
For the dark side of the selection we are featuring a black version of the Laoshan green tea that delivers a smooth Chinese black tea character. For the final tea of this month we opted for a Wild Assamica black tea that is picked in the forests of Northern Thailand from naturally growing wild tea trees.
Our Discovery subscription boxes contain 10g taster pouches of all of the above mentioned teas. If you are a subscriber you will benefit from a 10% discount on all teas from our tea shop!
Let’s get into further detail on these teas featured in our March tea subscription boxes.
Shandong Laoshan Green
Shandong Laoshan Green (山东崂山红茶) is a classic green tea from Laoshan Village in Shandong Province, one of the most northerly tea growing areas of China. It is grown at low altitude of just 300m next to the Yellow Sea. This tea is grown by a small family operation that do both tea growing, harvesting and traditional processing. This tea is from the early April 2024 harvest. We also offer a Shandong Laoshan Black version of this tea.
Shandong Province is located in the very far north of the tea producing belt of China. While the province is a large agricultural producer, there is not much tea planted here due to rather harsh and cold winters. Tea plants were first planted around Laoshan Village only about 60-70 years ago to see if the plants were able to cope with the adverse weather conditions. In order to ensure the survival of the tea plants, the farmers have to cover them for the winter months. Many of the tea plants here are enclosed in greenhouses throughout winter and early spring, particularly in order to protect them from any significantly frosty and cold spells of weather. When springs comes around, the covers are removed from the tea plants and they are able to grow in the natural environment exposed to the sun and elements.
Shandong Laoshan Green from Shandong Province is grown at Laoshan Village, next to Laoshan (崂山). Also known as Mount Lao, this mountain is located close to the coastline and is a popular tourist destination. The popularity of Mount Lao arises from the long affiliation of the mountain with Taoism, being considered as one of the “cradles of Taoism”. While there are strong links between Taoism and tea and perhaps you would expect to find some tea being grown in the Laoshan temples, tea was planted here only rather recently. Still it seems that the holy Taoist Laoshan is a rather appropriate place to grow such great tea!
This Shandong Laoshan Green has small wiry twisted and rolled leaves. They are not tightly rolled like an oolong but are looser and are rather small and tippy. The yellow-green liquor has a light vegetal and toasted corn aroma. This tea has a rather pleasant and smooth vegetal character. The flavours are vegetal, nutty and toasty with a slightly metallic finish. This tea has a really pronounced mouth-watering aspect that is combined with a soothing feel to make for an appealing cup of classic green tea.
We suggest brewing at 80°C for 3 minutes according to your taste. It should be brewed around 3+ times depending on your taste preferences.
You can also buy this Shandong Laoshan Green tea in our online shop.
Fuji GABA Tamaryokucha
Fuji GABA Tamaryokucha (富士ギャバ玉緑茶) is a green tea that is grown on the slopes of Mt Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture. Tamaryokucha is also commonly known as guricha in Japanese, a type of steamed green tea that has a distinctive curled leaf appearance. This version is further processed in an oxygen-deprived environment to increase the GABA content. The resulting GABA green tea has an attractive taste that reduces the vegetal and grassy flavours, while introducing a more tart fruity aspect. It is also commonly known as Gabaron tea in Japan (ギャバロン茶). We source this tea from a specialist small wholesaler in Shizuoka who works directly with the farmers. They specifically support smaller farmers in distributing their teas, developing new tea types, improving their techniques and providing additional end processing and refining at their small tea factory in Makinohara. This current batch was picked on 10 May 2024.
The name tamaryokucha (玉緑茶) literally translates as ball green tea into English. The alternative name for the steamed version of tamaryokucha is mushiguri (蒸しぐり) or guricha (ぐり茶), meaning (steamed) curly tea. The processing method for tamaryokucha follows that of sencha. The only difference is that the last step in processing, which is shaping, is omitted. The shaping stage gives the straight leaf appearance to the classic sencha leaf. As tamaryokucha is not shaped, the leaf retains the natural curl or coil shape. This also means that fewer leaves are broken during processing, resulting in a larger leaf. In terms of flavour, it also contributes to a smoother, less astringent and less drying flavour.
While this tea is positioned as a ‘health tea’ in Japan due to the high GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) and theanine levels, we also do find it to be delicious! The GABA content in the dry leaf for this batch was measured at 250mg/100g, making it one of the highest confirmed contents in any of our GABA teas. The level of theanine was measured at 1100mg/100g of dry leaf. As with all GABA tea, this tea undergoes a period of processing in an oxygen deprived environment (in this case around 8 hours). Typically this involves placing the tea leaves in a special vacuum tank that is then flushed with nitrogen. The leaves undergo a very light but very slow oxidation that vastly increases the GABA content.
Even though the GABA tea processing was invented by Japanese scientists, it was Taiwanese tea growers who really popularised it. While GABA Oolong from Taiwan is the most popular and common type at the moment, some GABA Green tea is also produced in Taiwan. Japan is also producing GABA green tea, but the production is limited and most of this tea stays in Japan. While personal experiences vary, many tea drinkers experience a calming and relaxing effect on the body that is combined with clarity of mind from this type of tea. It’s a perfect choice when practicing meditation, yoga and Tai Chi.
This GABA green tea has a typical appearance for a Tamaryokucha, which represents a neat, curly dark green leaf. Some small amount of stalks is also present that lends a bit of extra sweetness. It produces a bright green-yellow liquor with a vegetal and fruity aroma. The smooth taste has pronounced fruity vegetal notes. Combined with a savoury herbaceous aspect, the notes are reminiscent of green vine tomatoes and underripe fruits. The aftertaste is lasting, with a tangy and sour note that is commonly found in GABA teas, while further infusions bring out more citrus flavours. This tea serves as a great example of a GABA green tea as it possesses both the classic Japanese green tea flavours but also the unmistakeable fruity and tart aspect that results from the specialist processing.
It is best brewed at 80°C for around 2-3 minutes, with multiple infusions. For a more traditional style of brewing, the farmer specifically recommends using a traditional Japanese tea pot and to brew 3g in 100ml of water at 70°C for 1 minute, followed by further 45-60 second infusions until no flavour is left.
You can also buy this Fuji GABA Tamaryokucha green tea in our online shop.
Shandong Laoshan Black
Shandong Laoshan Black (山东崂山红茶) is a classic black tea from Laoshan Village in Shandong Province, one of the most northerly tea growing areas of China. It is grown at low altitude of just 300m next to the Yellow Sea. This tea is grown by a small family operation that do both tea growing, harvesting and traditional processing. This tea is from the spring 2024 harvest. We also offer a Shandong Laoshan Green version of this tea.
Shandong Province is located in the very far north of the tea producing belt of China. While the province is a large agricultural producer, there is not much tea planted here due to rather harsh and cold winters. Tea plants were first planted around Laoshan Village only about 60-70 years ago to see if the plants were able to cope with the adverse weather conditions. In order to ensure the survival of the tea plants, the farmers have to cover them for the winter months. Many of the tea plants here are enclosed in greenhouses throughout winter and early spring, particularly in order to protect them from any significantly frosty and cold spells of weather. When springs comes around, the covers are removed from the tea plants and they are able to grow in the natural environment exposed to the sun and elements.
Shandong Laoshan Black from Shandong Province is grown at Laoshan Village, next to Laoshan (崂山). Also known as Mount Lao, this mountain is located close to the coastline and is a popular tourist destination. The popularity of Mount Lao arises from the long affiliation of the mountain with Taoism, being considered as one of the “cradles of Taoism”. While there are strong links between Taoism and tea and perhaps you would expect to find some tea being grown in the Laoshan temples, tea was planted here only rather recently. Still it seems that the holy Taoist Laoshan is a rather appropriate place to grow such great tea!
This Shandong Laoshan Black tea has small wiry twisted and rolled leaves. It produces a light liquor with a fantastic floral aroma that is reminiscent of roses. This tea has a brisk flavour that is very smooth and tangy with a floral character. There are lovely notes of rose, caramel and hazelnuts. This tea produces a flavoursome yet light cup with no bitterness or astringency. The flavours always make us think of rose Turkish delight!
We suggest brewing at 90°C for 3-4 minutes according to your taste. It can be brewed around 3 times depending on your taste preferences.
You can also buy this Shandong Laoshan Black tea in our online shop.
Wild Forest Assamica
Wild Forest Assamica is a black tea that is picked from wild assamica tea trees found in forest of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, right on the border with Burma. Unusually, it is processed in a style most similar to a rolled Taiwanese black tea, resulting in a fantastic fruity character. The trees grow wild deep in ancient forests far away from human interference at an altitude of around 1,500 metres. The picking for this batch was in April 2024. We source this tea directly from the tea manufacturer in Doi Mae Salong.
The trees that this Wild Forest Assamica tea is picked from are of local Thai stock, which is a local Camellia sinensis var. assamica. It is a native tree to this part of Thailand that has been growing here for millions of years. Some of the older trees found in the jungles here are very tall and ancient. These trees tend to and do grow rather large, up to 5 metres, if not taller, depending on the surrounding environment. The same leaves are also used for making pu-erh tea both in Thailand and in Yunnan Province in China, where they are often sold to.
It is thought that this tree type is the first tea plant to come into existence; it is found in northern Thailand but also in Yunnan Province in China, northern Laos, eastern Myanmar and western Vietnam. The wild trees of this assamica varietal grow in this part of the world on their own without human interference of fertilisers or pesticides. While this tea has no organic certification, it is grown to organic standards as it is wholly picked from wild trees that are found in virgin forests of Chiang Rai.
The leaves of this Wild Forest Assamica are picked deep in the forests, after which they are brought to the factory in Doi Mae Salong for processing. Unusually, the tea master decided that the best way of processing this into a black tea is by following a Taiwanese style of processing whereby the leaves are tightly rolled. They are fully oxidised but do resemble a tightly rolled dark oolong tea in appearance. When brewed they open up into large dark leaves. As they open slowly, multiple brewing is advised to fully appreciate the developing flavours. The liquor has a rich amber colour with a lightly sweet and malty aroma. The tart, fruity profile of this tea has a creamy and soft texture with lightly floral and malty notes. The aftertaste is supremely smooth and long-lasting. It reminds us of a tart and fruity GABA Oolong, while having a much more complex profile and definite black tea characteristics.
We suggest brewing at 90°C for 3-4 minutes according to your taste. It can be brewed around 3 times depending on your taste preferences.
You can also buy this Wild Forest Assamica black tea in our online shop.
We really do hope that you enjoy this tea selection and are looking forward to the selection in our April boxes!
For the lighter side of the selection we opted for an unusual En Shi Yu Lu green tea from China that is similar in character to Japanese Gyokuro. This is followed by our extremely popular award-winning Fragrant Rice Oolong from Thailand that is blended with a local herb that is similar to pandan, also known as Asian vanilla.
For the darker side of the selection we chose a Honey Ruby Oolong from Darjeeling’s Rohini Tea Estate that features an attractive honey muscatel flavour. The final dark tea selected is a traditional black tea from Mount Kenya that works great as an unblended alternative to a breakfast tea.
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