Organic Nonpareil Chang Xing Gu Zhu Zi Sun Purple Bamboo Shoot China Green Tea

Production of this tea dates back at least to the 8th Century CE, when Lu Yu, China's Sage of Tea and author of "Cha Jing", set up a tea factory here dedicated to producing Gu Zhu Zi Sun as the first tribute tea for the Tang Dynasty Emperor. Lu Yu, the famous tea master, was instrumental in promoting tea and tea culture during the Tang Dynasty (619-907AD). In addition to writing the first book about tea, he built the first Tribute Tea factory for the emperor in Gu Zhu Mountain in Zhejiang Province in 846 AD. It was his belief that Gu Zhu Zi Sun was the very best tea, and became a Tribute Tea for over a thousand years. Initially this tea was steamed into cakes and then ground into a powder to drink. It was not until 1368 AD that this tea was brewed using whole leaves.

 

 

It was picked entirely by hand using the standard of primarily two tiny leaves and one bud, and the processing was also carefully done by hand to preserve the integrity of these beautiful little leaf sets. As with most Chinese green tea, this tea was picked, withered in the sun and/or indoors, heated in a low temperature wok to kill the enzymes in the leaves that would otherwise cause them to oxidize and turn brown, and finally dried before packing and shipping.