Yunnan Lücha

Yunnan Lücha is not a single tea but the green-tea family of Yunnan, the province held to be the genetic cradle of the tea tree. Its mark is the raw material: the big-leaf assamica variety, the same broad, thick leaf used for pu-erh, which gives a denser body, a softer bitterness and a sweeter finish than the small-leaf greens of the east.

The family is wide, sorted by how the leaf is fixed and dried. Chaoqing, pan-fired, leads with chestnut and roasted nut; hongqing, baked, runs clean and floral; shaiqing, sun-dried, carries a grassy, sun-warmed note — and is the very leaf that, pressed and aged, becomes pu-erh. Whichever the style, the cup is full and extractive, with a soft bitterness that turns quickly to a sweet huígān and good staying power across steeps.

In the cup

Brew it cool, around 75 °C — the big leaf gives a strong cup, so keep the steeps short and the sweetness leads. It holds up to many infusions, more than most greens. Drink the fired and baked styles young; the sun-dried leaf clears and softens with a little age.