(702) 877-4237

(702) 8-SPICES

Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday 10AM to 7PM
Sunday 11AM to 5PM

(702) 877-4237

(702) 8-SPICES

Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday 10AM to 7PM
Sunday 11AM to 5PM

Formosa Gunpowder Green Tea

$5.75$39.10

The 16 oz size includes a 15% discount.

Description

Formosa Gunpowder Green Tea

Formosa Gunpowder Green Tea, also known as Gunpowder Pinhead Green Tea, is a green tea with surprising body and captivating green tea taste.

Legend has it that the name Gunpowder was given by a young English clerk who thought the tiny rolled green balls looked like gunpowder. The tea leaves are specially selected for quality, size and style. They are then rolled into tight nuggets. Gunpowder tea keeps a lot longer than other green teas and is favored because of this characteristic.

Gunpowder tea comes from the province of Zhejiang in China and from Taiwan. Generally the better gunpowders come from Taiwan. Interestingly Taiwan’s gunpowder quality improved after 1949. Another interesting point; before the 1900’s, gunpowder tea comprised about 60% of Americas total tea imports compared to today, when it is less than 1 percent.

Today in Taiwan the tea bushes flush about 5 times per year from April to December. The best leaf is picked from the end of May to mid-August. The first tea bushes were planted in Taiwan about 300 years ago with bushes from Fujian Province. The tea growing and production is concentrated around the northern part of Taiwan near Chi-lung.

When the tea is made the tiny pellets jingle and tinkle in the bowl or cup. Boiling water causes them to open up like flowers and sink slowly to the bottom in graceful patterns, which add a dimension of visual pleasure to tea drinking. This gunpowder produces a reasonably strong dark-green brew with a memorable fragrance, a slightly bitter but not unpleasant flavor and a long lasting finish. Gunpowder is more dense than other teas so one or two teaspoons for a teapot is all that is required.

If you enjoy green teas in their natural state, then you need to look at our Japan Sencha Kakagawa and Dragonwell Green Teas, both from China as well as Genmaicha roasted rice green tea.

We also carry work directly with a family in Japan, from whom we buy Bancha, Fukamushi Sencha, Houjicha, Kukicha Twig Tea, Gyokuro, Ceremonial Matcha and Matcha Genmaicha Green Teas.  They are all wonderful and have their own characteristics, which set them apart from their Chinese and Taiwan counterparts.

Steeping Instructions
Hot tea brewing method: Put 1 slightly heaping tsp of loose tea for each 8oz of water in the cup or teapot. Pour the boiled but slightly cooled water over tea. Steep 3 to 7 minutes. Milk and Sugar are not recommended. Makes a wonderful Iced Tea as well.

Iced Tea: For a Liter or quart use 2 heaping Tbsp. of loose tea into teapot. Pour 1 1/4 cup boiling water on tea. Steep 5 minutes. Quarter fill serving pitcher straining tea. Add Ice. Top up with cold water, garnish & sweeten to taste.

Contains: Green tea.

Additional information

Weight 2.000 oz
Dimensions 0.000000 × 0.000000 × 0.000000 in
Tea Sizes

2 oz, 4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz

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Formosa Gunpowder Green Tea
$5.75$39.10