Liu'an Guapian is one of the most famous teas in China. Its shape is like sunflower seed and it is made with a single leaf. Xu Cishu of Ming Dynasty wrote in his book "About Tea, Tea Producing" that "Excellent tea grows in famous hills. The warm souther part of China suits for tea growth. Liu'an ranks first.." Poet Li Bai of Tang Dynasty spoke highly of it " Water of Yangtze River, Tea from Qiyun Mountain peak."
Recognizing
Liu'an Guapian is flat. Every piece of tea leave is without stem and bud. It shapes like sunflower seeds. It looks green and smooth and is overlapping upward slightly. The liquid is luminous green. It tastes sweet with strong aroma. Fake Liu'an Guapian tastes bitter and the color is rather yellow.
Tea Ceremony
Water temperature: boiling water of 85 ℃.
Amount of tea: 3 grams per cup is appropriate.
Tea sets: porcelain and pottery wares are best, followed by glass.
For Liu'an Guapian tea, 2 infusion are ok. First make the tea wet with a liitle water of 80 ℃ (boiling water will cause damage to the tea and make it taste bitter), then make the tea. Shaking can make full use of the aroma of tea and make the chemicals in tea fully dissolved into the liquid.
Tea Origin
According to legend, around 1905, a tea evaluation master from one Tea company of Liu'an picked the tender tea leaves from the top green tea he collected, discarding the old leaves and tea stems. As a new product, he sold it in the market and made good profits. A local tea company was inspired and dicarded the tea stems directly, then fried the old and tender separately. The color, smell and taste were very good. The tea is just like sunflower seeds, so it is called "slice". Later for being easy to read, it becomes Guapian.