Description
Lu Shan Yun Wu (庐山云雾) is a light and refreshing green tea from the Lu Shan (庐山) tea growing region of Jiangxi Province in China. It has a light and mellow vegetal profile with clean and refreshing, fruity and light roasted notes. The name Yun Wu (云雾) translates as ‘Cloud and Mist’ referring to the cool and misty climate at Lu Shan that is perfect for producing flavoursome teas that have a high level of theanine and are rich in tannins and vitamins. We are currently offering the April 2024 harvest.
Lu Shan (庐山), Mount Lu, also known as Kuanglu (匡庐), is a mountainous area in the northern part of Jiangxi Province and is one of the most famous mountain landscapes in China. Tea is grown at Lu Shan and around the surrounding area, mostly at higher altitude. As the landscape is mountainous, the tea fields and mountains are covered by a sea of clouds many days of the year. This is the origin of the Cloud and Mist tea name: it is partly descriptive of the growing conditions for this green tea. The cloud cover essentially provides natural shading for the tea plants, resulting in slower growth and a naturally more concentrated flavour. At the same time the clouds also bring plentiful precipitation, leading to a fuller, lusher leaf with plenty of nutrients. These factors combine to produce a delicate yet flavoursome tea with an enduring fruity sweetness.
In China the name Yun Wu (云雾) is somewhat common and is often also used in many other regions throughout the country to describe a green tea that is produced locally but that does not fall under any of the ‘famous’ tea types or has any other modern branding attached to it. Generally, it is a good quality local green tea that was hand plucked but then more machine processed in order to keep the costs reasonable. These teas do vary in quality and taste depending on the growing region and processing but tend to be somewhere in the middle. In this, our Lu Shan Yun Wu is similar to our Yun Wu green tea from Huang Shan but is of better quality.
Perhaps the reason for the popularity of the Yun Wu name is a Chinese saying 高山云雾出好茶 (gāoshān yúnwù chū hǎo chá), which can be roughly translated as ‘high mountain, cloud and mist leads to good tea’, clearly signifying the importance of the climatic conditions in good tea making!
Lu Shan Yun Wu green tea has a very neat, curled and twisted very appealing leaf that consists only of smaller leaves and buds. The dry leaf has a vegetal scent but also hints of lightly toasted wheat. The brewed liquor has a very light yellow-green colour with excellent clarity. The overall impression is that of a vegetal profile, but one that is very smooth, mellow and light. Nice fruity notes lend sweetness to the liquor while the more toasted aspect brings light notes of toasted almonds and roasted chestnuts. There is creamy smoothness that makes this very drinkable. There is hardly any astringency or dryness on the clean aftertaste, making for a very refreshing cup!
This green tea is best brewed at 80°C for 2-3 minutes according to your taste and can be brewed more than 3 times, increasing steeping time with each next brew if desired.
This Lu Shan Yun Wu green tea was first featured in our August 2020 Curious Tea Subscription Boxes.