The Lua'an Guapian, also known as the ‘slice Tea,' is renowned for its beautiful shape, vibrant green color, rich aroma, and mellow flavor. The Lua'an Guapian produced around Qiyun Mountain in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, stands out in terms of appearance, color, taste, and fragrance, making it a typical production area for this type of tea.

Appearance: The tea leaves are a precious green color with a shape resembling individual melon seeds, uniformly sized.

Brewed Tea: The tea liquor is light green, with a refreshing fragrance and a fragrant, smooth taste.

Infused Leaves: The infused leaves are a tender green, with relatively intact surfaces.

In the complex spectrum of Chinese teas, Lua'an Guapian is quite unique. On one hand, it is the only leaf tea without buds or stalks, and its picking period is limited to just over ten days around the Grain Rain period, confined to a few dozen kilometers around Qi' Tou Mountain in western Anhui. On the other hand, the processing method for Lua'an Guapian is extremely intricate, lasting nearly a week, with particular emphasis on the mastery of baking temperatures; if the temperature is too high, the tea becomes bitter, and if too low, it turns astringent. In shaping the tea's form, great effort is put into crafting each piece so that when brewed, they resemble bright green melon seeds, hence the name.

Even today, producing Guapian still requires significant manual labor, keeping costs high. Some enthusiasts have counted over 80 mentions of Lua'an Guapian in “Dream of the Red Chamber,” yet in reality, this tea is not widely circulated, almost as if it exists only in literature and imagination.

Unlike other teas, picking Guapian is very particular, selecting only the most tender leaves, neither the bud nor the stalk. At most, five or six leaves can be picked from a single branch. From a technical standpoint, Guapian tea is the only tea where each leaf is individually picked.

By late March, after the winter dormancy, tea plants start sprouting new shoots. In early April, the first leaf unfolds; by mid-April, the second leaf appears; by mid-April, the third leaf emerges; and when the fourth leaf grows, it should be around April 20th, the Grain Rain period. When the fourth leaf grows, pickers gently remove the second leaf.

The first leaf is discarded because, having covered the bud for a long time, it is already old when it emerges. At this point, the second leaf has just unfolded, with a length of about 3 centimeters, accumulating abundant nutrients while maintaining tenderness, making it ideal for picking. Simultaneously, the tea plant, after a year of accumulation, imbues the new leaves with its essence.

After the second leaf is picked, the third leaf will be ready to pick in 1 to 2 days, and so on. As temperatures rise, the leaves age more quickly. Among all the fresh leaves, the second leaf is considered the finest and most valuable, traditionally referred to as “Guapian.” The first leaf is called “Tip Piece,” while the third and fourth leaves are called “Mei Pieces,” and the bud is called Silver Needle.

The golden picking period for Guapian is within ten days around the Grain Rain period. Once the Start of Summer, May 5th, arrives, the rising temperatures cause the leaves to age rapidly. After Start of Summer, there is no longer any Guapian. At this point, picking no longer requires the meticulousness of embroidery, and the leaves can simply be plucked by hand.

The weather during the picking period is also crucial; it must not rain, as wet leaves are prone to fermentation. If the weather warms up too quickly, the new leaves will age faster, shortening the picking window.

Picking tea is a skilled job requiring delicate handling to gently pluck the leaves without damaging them or breaking the branches. A picker working for 12 hours a day can average 3 to 4 pounds of fresh leaves, and even the fastest and most skilled workers can only gather an additional pound of fresh leaves. It takes approximately 4 to 5 pounds of fresh leaves to produce 1 pound of Guapian, so a worker's daily harvest does not yield a full pound of tea.

The traditional picking method for Guapian differed from the current practice; previously, pickers would snap off branches with four or five leaves, followed by a process called “board slicing” – upon returning from picking, the leaves were individually removed from the branches and categorized by their tenderness. Younger and older leaves were processed with different heat levels, while the buds could be made into Mao Feng tea or processed with the stalks for personal consumption.

Nowadays, the “board slicing” process is rarely used, partly due to the need for additional labor and partly because sorting is done during the picking process, ensuring that each leaf is at its optimal tenderness.

Freshly picked leaves have no aroma but, after 10 hours of spreading out, begin to emit a faint floral and fruity scent. During spreading, the leaves must not be exposed to direct sunlight, the ground must be well-ventilated, and the layers should not be too thick. If possible, the leaves should be turned occasionally.

Fire control during processing is particularly important and a distinctive feature of Guapian production. It could be said that it is precisely this step that defines Guapian.

The first step is initial drying, or “killing the green,” which involves preliminary drying of the fresh leaves. Unlike other green teas, the killing the green process for Guapian consists of two stages: the raw pot and the cooked pot, used consecutively. The raw pot is followed by the cooked pot. The diameter of the Wok used is 80 centimeters, and the stove has a slope of about 25 to 35 degrees. The tool used for stirring the leaves is a “tea paddle” made of fine bamboo or sorghum, resembling a flat, small broom. The stove is heated with wood, and the temperature of the raw pot is between 100 to 120 degrees Celsius.

About 2 ounces of fresh leaves are added, ensuring each leaf touches the bottom of the pot. If the leaves make a sizzling sound like frying sesame seeds, the temperature is appropriate; if it's too high, the leaves will scorch. During the raw pot stage, the handler holds the paddle with the palm facing upwards, supporting the handle to move the leaves continuously in the pot, rotating and tossing them.

The raw pot process lasts about 1 to 2 minutes until the leaves become soft and darker in color, with the moisture content reduced to around 60%. Then, the leaves from the raw pot are directly swept into the adjacent cooked pot, which has a slightly lower temperature of around 70 to 80 degrees Celsius.

The cooked pot technique is highly sophisticated, serving to sculpt the shape of the leaves and organize their form. Using the tea paddle, the sides of the leaves are folded back to create a melon seed shape, similar to folding paper airplanes by hand. All this work is done in a single wok using the paddle, requiring the tea master to have extensive experience. Guapian gets its name from its shape, and if the cooked pot does not successfully set the shape, the quality of the tea will significantly decrease.

The tea master alternates between stirring and folding the leaves, creating a uniform shape. Gentle pressure is applied to younger leaves, while more force is used on older ones to fold the edges. Not only does the cooked pot stage set the shape, but it also acts as a “rolling” process, enhancing the aroma of the tea. This process takes about 5 minutes, during which the tea turns a dark green color, with the moisture content further reduced to around 35