China Gunpowder Super – Green Tea

Brew & Taste

Gunpowder is characterized by a distinctive bitter-sweet taste with a smoky hint. The infusion is medium yellow, smells natural and slightly smoky. The flavor is balanced, as high-quality green teas are recognized by their fresh, silky taste. Even a small trace of sharpness signals a drop in quality of this delicate balance.
China Gunpowder Super can also be prepared as an iced tea. Fill a glass 2/3 full of ice cubes and pour hot tea over them. You'll get a delicious, refreshing drink to cool hot days.

The pleasant astringency and light smoky aroma are appreciated by tea connoiseurs around the world. Now you can indulge in the power of real Gunpowder too!

Origins

Gunpowder, or Zhu cha, is one of the traditional Chinese green teas. It's mainly produced in the famous Zhejiang province in the east of China. About 70% of the territory is made up of hills, with only lowland areas along the coast and rivers. Zhejiang has a humid subtropical climate with four seasons. Spring, which comes in March, is rainy and unpredictable. Summer arrives in June, and brings warmer temperatures and high humidity as well as frequent rains, which persist until September. Fall is dry, warm and sunny, and winters are short but cold.

Tea gardens in Zhejiang are mostly cultivated by small family farms. The art of growing, harvesting and processing Gunpowder is passed down from generation to generation. Traditional green tea production practices are a national treasure in China. The plantations are mostly run as organic, so the resulting tea is free of heavy metals and other harmful substances. The tea plants are usually harvested by women, sometimes with children. They store the leaves in large bamboo baskets which they carry on their backs. They have to transport the day's harvest relatively quickly for processing. The leaves are then spread out in the sun and left to wilt, roasted to stop fermentation, rolled into small balls and dried. Everything is done by hand –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ each Gunpowder bead is given proper, individual care. The tea got its name probably thanks to the resemblance to its namesake. In addition, it has similar "explosive" properties –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ after brewing, the shiny tea leaves develop very quickly.

Tea packaging preview

We pack our teas in a strong, zip-lock aluminum packet which allows you to easily re-seal its contents. This container protects the quality of the tea against humidity, light or foreign odors, all of which could noticeably affect the quality of the brew.