Gu Zhu Zi Sun Tea

Guzhu Zisun tea)is green tea, traditional tea of Zhejiang. Guzhu Zisun tea also called Huzhou Zisun, Changxing Zisun. Guzhu Zisun tea produced in Guzhu village of Changxing County,China’s Zhejiang Province, famous as early as 1200 years ago. The name Zi Sun means "Purple Bamboo Shoot", so called because the unprocessed tea leaf is partially purple in color and its slim, narrow shape resembles that of a bamboo shoot.

Quality characteristics of Guzhu Zisun tea:

Shape: back roll like bamboo shell, shaped like orchids

Color: green jade, Yin Hao obvious

Soup color: clear and bright

Aroma: fragrance, aroma of orchids

Tea leafs: green soft, delicate as flower

History of GuZhu ZiSun 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.