Lu'an Guapian
六安瓜片 · Melon Seed
Green
This tea is built from a single leaf. No bud, no stem, and even the central vein stripped out. It is the only famous tea in China made this bare.
What is left gets whisked around a wok with a straw broom, then pulled over charcoal three separate times. The last fire is hot and fast, and it caramelises the leaf's own sugar.
Every step is a subtraction. Take away the bud, the stem, the vein, and then add nothing but heat. You can taste all of it. Roasted chestnut and a cool melon sweetness, with no grass left in it anywhere.
- chestnut
- melon
- smooth
- Origin
- Lu'an, Anhui
- Water
- 80°C / 176°F
- Ratio
- 2.5 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Not needed
China Top Ten Famous Teas; Qing tribute (Guangxu, Cixi); ~80 mentions in Dream of the Red Chamber
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~2.5g of tea
The session
5 infusions, about 3m 20s of total contact time.
- Steep 120sToasted warmth, holding something back.
- Steep 230sChestnut opens over green bean.
- Steep 340sThe fire fades; melon coolness rises.
- Steep 450sCream slips in behind the sweetness.
- Steep 51mFloral at last, light as ash.
Also sold as
Lu An Gua Pian, Liu An Gua Pian, Lu'an Kuapien, Melon Slices
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.