The Earliest Harvest Green Tea. First Flush (Winter 2026)

Quantity

$30.00

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, THIS TEA IS OUT OF STOCK

IT WILL BE AVAILABLE NEXT SPRING, HARVEST OF 2027

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In the middle of 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 Niu 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 January, we believe this tea is the very first green tea harvest of 2026 in all of China!

The Early Harvest 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 wood-fired Sha Qing (杀青) that gives the tea its light, pleasant smokiness. With only small batches available each year, this tea is a rare gem!

While it is still cold in the West, Spring has already arrived in Jiangcheng County of Yunnan, where the regional microclimate allows for an exceptionally early first harvest full of freshness and umami.

This tea comes from the historically significant Niuluohe Tea Factory (牛洛河茶厂). Established in the early 1990s near the pristine Niuluohe Nature Reserve, this estate is famous for its rolling, high-altitude ecological tea plantations along the Niuluo River basin. Situated close to where China, Laos, and Vietnam meet, the region is blessed with heavy mountain mists, excellent natural forest shade, and rich biodiversity.

Because Niuluohe was an early pioneer in organic tea farming, their gardens are managed with rigorous ecological standards. You can taste it in this clean, smooth, and naturally sweet "Jiangcheng-style" green tea.

The microclimate in Niuluohe Nature Reserve shares a similar latitude and atmospheric profile to Taiwan. This inspired the estate to actively exchange knowledge with Taiwanese tea technicians over the years, implementing their agricultural practices to further enhance processing methods. The resulting leaf yields an exclusive aroma of fruits and flowers, balanced by a savory umami that is hard to find elsewhere.

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: Menglie Town (勐烈镇), Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan, China

• Altitude: 930m

• Harvest Date: January 21, 2026

• 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℃
1 g per 70-100 ml3-5 min
1 g per 25 ml5 sec + 5 sec for each subsequent infusion

Not ham anymore

I gotta say, when I first opened this tea, and brewed it up with excitement, it did taste like pork broth. I closed it up and decided I’d wait a little longer to try it again. It’s been several months and I tried it again today, brewing it like I do bi lo chun, adding the leaves after the first pour of water, and this is definitely not pork broth anymore. I’m getting the sweetness, a little vegetal flavor like baby spinach, and just a hint of that smoky flavor remains. It’s lovely.

I was afraid I’d need to make some noodles and eat it as a broth, but giving it that time to mellow out made a huge difference in the flavor. Not sure it’ll impact anyone else’s tea journey as it won’t be available till next year. Definitely a learning experience, just how much that time changed the flavor. If you’ve got something that you don’t like right when you get it, give it that time to mellow out and see what happens.

Maybe not too much time for a green tea, but the 3ish months it just chilled made a world of difference. Also, doing the side pour down the gaiwan instead of directly pouring on the leaves… this one seems a little more sensitive to that than other teas I have.

If this helps anyone enjoy their tea more, than this review on a sold out tea was worth my time.

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.

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The Earliest Harvest Green Tea. First Flush (Winter 2026)

Customer Reviews