Laoshan Green Tea is produced in Qingdao, Shandong and belongs to the green tea category. Laoshan Green Tea is a strip-style tea featuring long, slender strands. When brewed, it offers a prominent aroma and a fresh, lingering sweet aftertaste. It is a well-known green tea variety in Shandong Province and a rising star in the Chinese green tea world.
Origin and Characteristics of Laoshan Green Tea
Much like Rizhao Green Tea, Laoshan Green Tea is a product of the “southern tea moved north” initiative. Because the Laoshan area in Qingdao is close to the coast with a relatively mild climate, it has become China’s northernmost boundary for tea cultivation, making Laoshan and Rizhao green teas representatives of northern Chinese green teas. Due to its more northerly location, the harvest season is much cooler compared to the south. As a result, Laoshan Green Tea exhibits distinct characteristics completely different from southern green teas, featuring lower bitterness and astringency alongside a unique aroma. Laoshan Green Tea is widely praised for its exceptional color, aroma, flavor, lingering finish, and appearance.
The Laoshan region features a mild climate and marks China’s northern limit for tea planting. Here, the average summer temperature is 25°C, the annual average temperature is 12.2°C, and it frequently snows in winter. Because winters are quite cold, harvesting is limited to spring, summer, and autumn. Spring tea is of the highest quality, followed by autumn tea. The defining characteristic of Laoshan Green Tea is its chestnut-like aroma, though some also find it reminiscent of green peas, making for a truly special tasting experience.
Production Method
Spring tea is considered the best, followed by autumn tea, while summer tea is the most affordable. The ideal harvest consists of one bud with two leaves, or one bud with one leaf. The production process involves three main steps: fixation, rolling, and drying. Fixation is done at a temperature of about 150 to 200°C for approximately 2 minutes. Rolling extracts the tea juices so they adhere to the leaves. Finally, drying reduces the moisture content down to 6%, completing the production of rough tea (Maocha).
Depending on the season and the characteristics of the tea leaves, Laoshan Green Tea is commonly produced in two styles: flat-shaped (Biancha) and curly-shaped (Juancha), with the flat-shaped style being more common in recent years.
How to Brew Laoshan Green Tea
Use spring water or stream water heated to about 80°C. The recommended tea-to-water ratio is roughly 1 to 50—meaning use 2 g of Laoshan Green Tea for every 100 ml of water in your teapot. Steep for 3 minutes for the first infusion, adding 1 minute for each subsequent brew.