High mountains and clouds produce fine tea, and the Cloud Mist tea produced on Lushan Mountain is particularly favored by countless tea enthusiasts. Lushan Cloud Mist tea is one of China's top ten famous teas. It belongs to the green tea category and is renowned for its "mellow taste, elegant color, fragrant aroma, and clear liquor."

Lushan Cloud Mist tea has a refreshing and lasting fragrance, a mellow and sweet taste, and has always been regarded as a treasure by drinkers. It was called "Wenlin Tea" in ancient times, first produced during the Han Dynasty, with a planting history of over a thousand years, and was listed as a "Tribute Tea" during the Song Dynasty. It was during the Ming Dynasty that Lushan tea began to be called Lushan Cloud Mist tea.

Tea from Amidst the Clouds and Mist

"Mount Lushan's beauty is the finest under heaven,

Cloud Mist tea's mellow fragrance prolongs life."

The cloud and mist scenery is one of the wonders of Lushan Mountain. Lushan faces the Yangtze River to the north and leans against Poyang Lake to the south; with towering peaks, lush forests, gushing springs, and steaming mist. The clouds and mist are peculiarly strange and ever-changing.

The tea bushes sprout during the season with the most foggy days, thoroughly nurtured by flowing springs, waterfalls, and enveloping clouds and mist. "The misty buds absorb the essence of the dragon's fat," creating the unique quality of Cloud Mist tea. The tea bushes have a long growth period, resulting in thick leaves, abundant pekoe, a mellow and refreshing taste that withstands multiple infusions, and high levels of tannins, aromatic oils, tea alkaloids, and vitamins. It is often compared to orchids for its "subtle, elegant fragrance and color."

Lushan Cloud Mist: Appreciation

Lushan Cloud Mist tea has long been famous for its "Six Unique Qualities": "tight, heavy, and robust strips; verdant green with abundant pekoe; bright liquor; tender, even leaves; lasting, penetrating fragrance; and mellow, sweet taste." The buds are plump, the leaves are fat, with white pekoe evident, and the color is emerald green. The aroma is orchid-like, the taste is deep, fresh, sweet, and mellow, it withstands multiple infusions, the liquor is bright, and the aftertaste is fragrant and lingering.

Appearance: Tightly rolled, heavy, full, and elegant strips;

Color: Between yellowish-green and bluish-green, bright and smooth, buds hidden with green;

Aroma: Fragrant, high and long, sharp and fresh; a rich aroma somewhere between green flowers and orchids is considered top quality;

Liquor Color: Clear and bright, greenish with a yellow tint, transparent green;

Taste: Rich and refreshing, strong, mellow, fresh, and sweet;

Leaf Base: Tender green with a slight yellow hue, even and bright, soft and舒展.

Lushan Cloud Mist: Brewing

The ratio of tea to water should generally be around 1:50, meaning 3 grams of dry tea for 150 milliliters of water.

Do not use 100-degree boiling water for brewing; 85 degrees Celsius is generally suitable (water boiled and slightly cooled). This way, the brewed tea liquor will be bright in color, mellow, and sweet.

The number of infusions should not exceed three. The first infusion extracts about 50% of the soluble substances; the second about 30%; and the third about 10%.

Because Lushan Cloud Mist tea has "tight, heavy, and robust strips," the "top-loading method" is best for brewing. That is, first pour 85-degree hot water into the cup, then add the tea leaves.

If using a glass cup, you can observe: some tea leaves sink straight down, some drift down slowly, and some float up and down,舒展 and swimming. This process is called the "tea dance." Soon, the dry leaves absorb enough water and gradually unfurl, revealing one bud and one leaf. Meanwhile, steam rises from the liquor surface carrying the tea's fragrance. At this moment, sniffing the aroma of the tea liquor while it's hot will surely refresh your mind and delight your heart.

Lushan Cloud Mist tea, with its unique flavor, is not only rich and fragrant, refreshing and relieving, but also aids digestion, sterilizes, detoxifies, helps prevent gastrointestinal infections, and increases resistance to scurvy. In 1959, Comrade Zhu De, after tasting this tea on Lushan Mountain, happily wrote a poem praising it: "Lushan Cloud Mist tea, strong in taste and bold in nature. If one drinks it often, it is a method for prolonging life."