Banzhang Forest Tea

Banzhang Forest Tea is a classic green tea of high quality, which is characterised by its brightly green and silver coloured leaves. 'Silverleaves' are the youngest leaves of the fresh shoot, which have silvery hairs underneath.

The forest teagardens of Banzhang are over 150 years in age. Since its beginning tea trees have been provided with the supply in space, water and nutrition by the natural environment of tropical forests. Which are the same forests where tea still was growing as a small and shade tolerant wild forest tree some 3000 years ago.

Today in Banzhang the cultivated descendants of the wild tea plant are still allowed to grow to almost unlimited sizes - in fact they again became part of the natural forest ecosystem. Such traditional, ecosystem-based management has no need for artificial fertilisers nor for additional chemical pest and diseases control.

The exceptional age and quality of the tea trees provide Banzhang Forest Tea with a strong and rich yet very exquisite taste. The tea leaves are quite yielding, you may pour it over up to five times.

In Banzhang tea harvest usually starts in early March and ends with the beginning of the dry season in October. The tea trees have to be climbed for harvest. In March and April, when fast growth yields tender sprouts and leaves, the best spring tea qualities are harvested and processed.

Fresh leaves are immediately carried to the small village-owned tea factory. Tea processing involves grading, first drying/roasting, rolling and final drying with hot air in a special sieve oven. The hot air comes from fuelwood ovens. Long piles of fuelwood around the factory are telling a story of high fuel demand. Because of an excellent integrative forest management this demand can be met sustainably from within the village forests. The whole tea fabrication process, looked after by 3 workers, takes about four hours.

Banzhang is producing around 2 metric tons of finest Spring Green Tea. We are glad to offer this high value product to the European market exclusively as Banzhang Forest Tea.

[Banzhang Forest Tea/ Spring Tea / April]

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