Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shan Valley
Tea Description:
This tea is considered to be the freshest and most sought after tea. Shan First Flush Reserve tea is the first harvest in the year and only occurs once a year, usually in early April. Shan First Flush is subtle yet has a rich and distinct taste. Because it comes in limited quantities, it is considered a reserve tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this Shan First Flush Green Tea from Shan Valley. This is a new-to-me company, and the teas are grown in Myanmar, and to my knowledge, I haven’t yet tried teas from this particular area. So, I kept my fingers crossed!
The dry tea is a bit darker in color than I expected from a green tea. It almost looks like a black tea, or at the very least, a darker Oolong. But it brews up a pale, transparent green color, so even if the tea leaves don’t look green, the color of the liquid definitely tells me that this is a green tea.
My first couple of sips – taken while the tea was still quite hot – were rather delicate in taste. After I allowed the tea to cool for a moment or two (OK so it was closer to 2 minutes), I found that the flavors began to develop. This is light and vibrant, with a vegetative note and a lovely hint of citrus-y flavor that is especially noticed toward the finish and in the aftertaste.
Many vegetative green teas have a “buttery” taste to them, but I don’t really notice a strong buttery note here. Instead, it’s as if the “veggies” were accented with a squeeze of lemon rather than a drizzle of melted butter. My palate feels very refreshed after each sip.
While this may be the first tea that I’ve tried from Shan Valley, it certainly won’t be the last, and I’m excited to learn what the other teas from this company have in store for me!
