Gunpowder Green Tea, LIFE!!!!!!!?

Today is about gunpowder green tea. But you will have to wait. Lauren and I have apparently turned this blog into our own little life journal, so I'm going to continue that for the moment, and VENT! My last post was about; despite how crappy some things are at the moment, it's ok, and I'm ok, and blah, blah, blah. Not today. Things have become worse. That horrible job that I talked about last time; worse than I thought. I got into an argument with the owner, and walked off the site, and didn't get paid for a days worth of work. Then I discovered that because I wasn't paying close enough attention to my bank account, and because someone waited for a month to cash one of my checks, and because I'm tight already, I am somewhat screwed. My scanner broke, so I can't finish up that illustration project that has to be done by the 19th (no money for a new scanner either). We still have to move, and all that other stuff is still looming, or in the picture. You should thank me for not getting into the details of this stuff because we would be here for hours.

Anyway, I've drinking gunpowder green tea a lot during all this crap, so that's what we're going to write about today. To start with, here's some info from Wikipedia:

Gunpowder tea (珠茶; pinyin: zhū chá) is a form of green Chinese tea produced in Zhejiang Province of China in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. It is believed to take its English name from the fact that the tea resembles gunpowder pellets used for cannon. This rolling method of shaping tea is most often applied either to dried green tea (the most commonly encountered variety outside China) or Oolong tea.

Gunpowder tea production dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618–907) but it was first introduced to Taiwan in the 1800s. Gunpowder tea leaves are withered, steamed, rolled, and then dried. Although the individual leaves were formerly rolled by hand, today most gunpowder tea is rolled by machines (though the highest grades are still rolled by hand). Rolling renders the leaves less susceptible to physical damage and breakage and allows them to retain more of their flavor and aroma. In addition, it allows certain types of oolong teas to be aged for decades if they are cared for by being occasionally roasted.

When buying gunpowder tea it is important to look for shiny pellets, which indicate that the tea is relatively fresh. Pellet size is also associated with quality, larger pellets being considered a mark of lower quality tea. High quality gunpowder tea will have small, tightly rolled pellets.

While brewing methods vary widely by tea and individual preferences, 1 teaspoon of looseleaf tea is recommended for every 150ml (5.07 oz) of water. Ideal water temperature for this type of tea is between 70°c (158°F) to 80°c (176°F) ^[2]. For the first and second brewing, leaves should be steeped for around one minute. It is also recommended that the tea cup or tea pot used should be rinsed with hot water prior to brewing the tea to warm the vessels. When brewed, gunpowder tea is a yellow color.

The flavor of brewed gunpowder tea is often described as thick and strong like a soft honey, but with a smokey flavor and an aftertaste that is slightly coppery. This type of tea is often seen as having a flavor that is somewhat grassy, minty, or peppery.

That pretty much says it all, but I'll add my own opinion. I find it to be a nice, robust, green tea. The astringency is low, so it's gentle even though there's some tangible body to it. To me it doesn't seem like a tea to curl up with (although nothing is stopping you from doing so), but a tea to put in your thermos and drink on the top of a mountain on a brisk day. Actually, brewing this on a peak would be even better. It's starting to become my green tea of choice, largely because it's simple, and it feels like you'll get something done when you drink it. I recommend this tea with wood chopping, mountain climbing, and cabin building. It is called "Gunpowder" so I guess it has to be burly.

You can see from the picture above that it brews into a husky yellow color. and don't put too much of the dry tea into the pot for brewing. It's all rolled up, so a little goes a long way. I've put too much in and you get what looks like a pot of boiled spinach. It still made great tea, but I had to strain it quickly, and it was a waste of tea.