The Earliest Harvest Green Tea. First Flush (Winter 2025)

In the middle of the Winter, a young monk studying under the Great Lao Cha got very sad.

– What's on your mind, young man? – asked Lao Cha

– I'm so tired of the Winter, Teacher. It's cold and gloomy. I have no energy, and my spirit is down. I can't wait for Spring already!

– I have a remedy for your spirit, young monk. Try this green tea.

– A green tea, Sifu?! Now?! But it's still Winter!

– On the banks of the Liu Luo River in Yunnan, it's already Spring, and farmers have already produced fresh sweet tea. Drink up and see for yourself – the Spring is coming.

Harvested in just the first days of January, we believe this tea is the very first green tea harvest of 2025 in all of China.

This year's First Flush green tea features an atypical and powerful umami character. Its flavor characteristics are akin to premium Japanese teas, blending the best of China and Japan's tea realms. This brothy and full-bodied tea has a rich, multi-dimensional taste and aroma, thanks to the food-fired Sha Qing (杀青) that gives the tea its pleasant smokiness. With only small batches available each year, this rare gem is a must-have for any true tea connoisseur.

While it is still cold in the West, Spring has already arrived in Yunnan. Our good friends, Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhang, did not waste any time and produced this excellent tea, full of freshness and umami. Their high mountain (950m) tea garden is located on the Liuluo River, and this is the southmost tea garden in Yunnan.

Dahei Mountain rises at more than 2600 meters above sea level in Yunnan province, near the border with Burma. It is blessed with abundant rainfall and green peaks. Many consider this ancient forest to be the best preserved in the border area. The entire region enjoys a wild and pristine landscape. The dense forest is a unique biodiversity mix between broad-leaved species and ancient tea trees. Here, people discovered the largest tea tree ever measured - a giant arbor 20m high, 1,9m in diameter, with a crown surface of 78.5 sq. meters. The wild tea trees are tall and arbor-shaped, with trunks covered in moss. A walk in this ancient forest wakes the senses and lets you smell the unique fragrance of pure tea, as nature intended it.

The region in Dahei Mountain enjoys the same latitude as Taiwan. That has encouraged the two producers to implement knowledge and good practices from Taiwan in their tea-making process. They are constantly in contact with tea technicians from Taiwan. While actively exchanging knowledge, they also enhance their tea processing. The result is a green tea with an exclusive aroma of fruits and flowers, hard to find elsewhere.

In 2024, we recorded a video of trying this tea:)

Once sold out, this tea will not be replenished till next year,

as it should be consumed fresh, just like Japanese Shincha.

• Place of Origin: Liuluo River (the southmost tea garden in Yunnan, China)

• Altitude: 950m

• Harvest Date: January 7, 2025

• Picking Standard: one bud, two leaves

• Aroma: fresh & vegetal, pleasantly smoky

• Taste: sweet and smooth, with umami, notes of spinach and artichoke, and a touch of smoke.

• Cultivar: Yunkang #10 / wild tea bushes (50/50)

Brewing guidelines:

175℉ / 80℃

1g per 60ml 3-5min

1g per 25ml 5sec + 5sec for each subsequent infusion

First flush 2025

This has one of the best aromas of any tea I've ever had. The nose is bursting with seaweed, steamed asparagus, sauteed spinach, and nori maki arare. The palate is very similar to the nose, with notes of smoked ham, chicken broth, and fresh green vegetables. The finish has a slightly drying astringency that invites me to take another sip. As someone who usually reaches for Japanese greens over Chinese greens, this was a wonderful surprise.

Flush

I have been studying and tasting tea since 1980. I drink all kinds of tea with an emphasis on green and puer. I have only come across one undrinkable tea in that time, now I have experienced two. I watched the video from last year, I expected smoke, that's ok. Farmer-smoked is a sub-genre. I did not expect to smell ham.

One of the poorer translations describing this tea used the term food-heated instead of wok-heated. The processors should have cleaned the wok after last nights pork chops before roasting the tea.

Hi Larry,

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. We’re sorry to hear that this tea didn’t meet your expectations.

After receiving your review, we revisited the tea ourselves and can attest that the taste is very clean. Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhang are highly experienced tea masters who take great care in their craft – there’s nothing but tea in their woks. That said, the ham-like aroma you’re noticing is actually an inherent characteristic of smoked teas, not a sign of contamination.

This particular tea was indeed wood-fired on a wok, and the gentle hickory, ham-like notes are a natural result of this process. If you’d like to compare, you might try our Smoky Lapsang Souchong – a completely different tea from a different region, made by another tea master – but you’ll find similar hickory and ham-like notes there as well, only much more pronounced. This is simply what happens when tea is exposed to wood smoke.

We understand that these flavors can be an acquired taste, so we encourage you to give this tea another try – you may find it grows on you! In any case, we truly appreciate your feedback and your many years of tea experience.

Warm regards,
Misha and the TEAm:)

Smokey Green Tea!

This first flush stuff is more like a royal flush! I was pleasantly surprised by the smokey smell and smooth vegetal taste combo! Two thumbs way up! 👍👍

Fantastic tea

This is a great tea. It reminds me very much of Japanese green tea but the vegetal flavors taste deeper. Drinking the tea gave me a subtle sea taste from how much umami is in this tea. The only reason I didn't give this tea 5 stars is because the flavor is so strong and complex I can't drink a lot of it.

what a pleasant surprise

I really can't add anything to the other highly positive reviews. I will just confirm that this tea has an overwhelmingly fresh taste and aroma. I wouldn't compare it to subtler more complex Chinese green teas. But it is immediately satisfying and perfect in its own way. I find myself craving more. And it leaves a delightful creaminess in the mouth. A wonderful early green tea.

1 2

The Earliest Harvest Green Tea. First Flush (Winter 2025)

Customer Reviews