Laoshan Bat Shandong green tea from Teabento, a Chinese tea that combines all green teas in one – shaded, unshaded, pan-fired, steamed, and much more.
Many many years ago I fell in love with Rizhao Lvcha. There is something very different and unique in green tea from Shandong, so I knew this one will not be an exception. This is the last tea from the first Teabento sample pack I received, and I love that I’ve saved this for last. Although all were very amazing, Laoshan Bat Shandong green tea is something that should not be missed by any tea drinker in love with Chinese green tea.
Name: Laoshan Bat – Imperial Grade Laoshan Green
Tea Vendor: Teabento (Germany)
Type: Chinese green tea
An upside-down green tea
I might be wrong, but I don’t think Boris and Ning-Ning had the image of an upside-down tea in their minds when naming Laoshan Bat. It does feel like an upside-down tea. Nothing is straight with Laoshan Bat, and the name fits perfectly.
Laoshan Bat Shandong green tea is a pan-fired tea with beautiful small curly leaves. It’s made from Long Jing #43 cultivar. Leaves really look amazing- tiny, uniformed in size and color, washed out matte olive green-greyish. And then, there is that amazing scent – so much unique nuttiness, freshness and lightly toasted green feeling. Price is 4.90 EUR for 25 grams (discounted 1 EUR), or around 5.80 USD.
Removing Laoshan Bat Shandong Green Tea From a Cave and Putting it Into a Teapot
Brewing: 150 ml 5 grams, 85 degrees Celsius, 40, 20, 60, 180 seconds
I love this tea sooo much. It gets an amazing scent in a heated teapot. Feels like a sweet sweet corn covered with sugar cane and rolled in freshly boiled spinach leaves. So full, so intense, so perfectly amazing.
There is a lot to say about this little curly friend. First, the scent of the wet leaves will amaze every green tea lover. It’s like a unique combination of gyokuro and long jing, sweetness and green scent, umami and lightly baked notes. This tea has the best of both shaded and unshaded teas, both steamed and pan-fired teas, a tiny bit of umami, fullness and complexity, and beautiful leaves.
And It Just Gets Better
The color of the wet leaves is like the most beautiful intense green color of deep steamed sencha. Some other Chinese green teas have the similar color, but is definitely not that common. The first steep has everything – light umami, deep sweetness, tiny astringency at the end, fullness and green freshness, and light baked toasted notes. It’s truly an amazing tea. Color is yellowish green, quite full. Second infusion has a quite delicate, green and sweet flavor, but still full and well-rounded. Third has a more toasty notes, more light flavor, but still very full and sweet. Laoshan Bat Shandong green tea is good for four infusions, but the last one will be quite weak. Wet used leaves look amazingly beautiful, like it’s been freshly picked and delivered to your cup in less than an hour.
This is one of those teas I would want to drink every single day, but with a bit more uniqueness and style than regular everyday tea. It’s definitely a green tea for serious addicts, and it’s perfect for any time of the day. Teabento says it is satisfying, I would say it’s much more than that. Exciting? Definitely.
