Charming Anhui

Types of teas in Anhui province

Updated: 2010-04-29 12:35

Many types of hight-quality tea are produced in Anhui province. Here we provide information about Huangshan Maofeng, Qimen Black Tea (or Keemun), Tunxi Green Tea, Taiping Huo Kui, Lu'an Guapian, Yongxi Huoqing, Jingting Green Snow, Huoshan Huangya and Chrysanthemum tea.

Huangshan Maofeng Tea

There's an old Chinese saying "famous mountains produce famous tea". Huangshan Mountain is one of China's famous mountains for producing great green teas and its Maofeng is certainly one of the best. It is one of China's Ten Famous Teas.

Huangshan Maofeng Tea's English translation is "Yellow Mountain Fur Peak" due to the small white hairs which cover the leaves and the shape of the processed leaves which resemble the peak of Huangshan Mountain. The best teas are picked in the early Spring before China's Qingming (Tomb-sweeping) Festival. When picking the tea, only the new tea buds and the leaf next to the bud are picked. It is said by local tea farmers that the leaves resemble orchid buds.

The special processing technique makes Maofeng a strong, yet very refreshing tea. The aroma of Maofeng is a pleasant reminiscence of fresh orchid bloom. Every sip of Huangshan Maofeng tea promises a sweet and refreshing memory.

In China’s history, Maofeng tea has not only served as a tribute to the emperors, but also to foreign guests on diplomatic occasions since 1949.

Legend of Huangshan Maofeng Tea

According to a local legend, there was a young scholar and a beautiful local girl fell madly in love. A local landowner saw the girl picking tea and wanted her for himself. He forced the girl's parents to make their daughter marry him. On the night before the wedding, the young girl snuck out of the landowners house only to find that the landowner had murdered the scholar. She went to his grave and cried until she became the rain. The scholar's body became a tea tree.