Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Tea Description:
2 oz (57g) makes 60+ cups, 33 cents per cup
Ingredients: Wild Harvested Green Tea leaves- Antioxidant Rich
This special reserve green tea is a wild harvested tea that grows near the farm of Shang’s friend. The leaves are plucked and then processed on Shang’s farm to produce a truly unique green tea.
This green tea exudes a beautiful, vibrant green color that demonstrates the freshness of this tea. As with most green teas, this one has a green, grassy taste to it, but with an amazing umami sweetness and no bitterness or astringency. And being wildharvested, it is full of great flavor that lasts for at least 4-5 good steepings.
This is a tea that you will not want to miss and this year’s crop will likely sell out fast, so order today to enjoy this tasty treat! Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There are not many tea houses, or places to buy quality loose leaf tea in my area, however about one hour from my home is what I consider to be one of the best tea places anywhere in the United States. Shang Tea is on my top 10, perhaps even top 5 list of the best places to get quality teas. I found them online before I even knew they existed so close to my home! I do not get to go to their store often, but when I do I always feel welcome. If you take the time you can sit down and be served gongfu style all of their teas free for sampling and speak to the owner, Mr. Shang, about the teas, how they are sourced, and where they are sourced from. It is an educational experience. 
As for this tea, it is funny because Shang Tea gets the short end of the stick when it comes to me and my lack of reviewing their teas. Shang teas are the teas I grab when I really need to unwind, relax, decompress from a stressful day. When my life feels like it is in chaos I grab one of their teas. Often it is this very tea. I know it will never let me down and has meditative qualities I appreciate and desire in tea. More often than not, when I am reaching for my Shang Teas, especially Special Reserve Green, it is in those times I am not in the mindset to review or write about tea, rather I simply want to indulge and fully immerse myself in the cup. So my apologies to Shang Tea, if it were not for the stead fast, calming nature of your teas, I would have been spreading the accolades far sooner! Yes, in fact your tea is so good that I have lacked giving back. As the tea wipes my cares away it also erases my thoughts on telling everyone just how wonderful it is.
This tea is quite simply, clean, brisk, refreshing, glorious! There are of course the grassy notes as in most greens, and a lovely buttery, creamy, mouthfeel. There is the noticeable taste of gently simmered veggies, giving off almost a toasty flavor. I also detect the slightest sesame, nutty, note in the after taste.
The steeped leaves are delicate and pretty, with a mixture of light green and darker green hues.
The aroma of this tea takes me away to thoughts of the rolling tea fields and mountain landscapes that Shang teas come from. It’s bright and cherry but the depth of the aroma allows me to escape, its not a morning wake up tea as much as a focusing and centering tea that allows you to clear your mind and cleanse your spirit.
The complexities of this tea are subtle and it causes you, without pressure to sink into the tea and focus on what it has to offer, which aids in taking your mind off of your worries.
Its difficult to hold a cup of Special Reserve in your hand without just sinking back into your seat and taking a deep cleansing breath soaking in the aroma, and flavors.
As you can imagine, with how this tea makes me feel, I was not rushing back to the computer, or to technology in a rush to pound my fingers to do a review, but it is a tea that so deserves a review so that others can get a chance to get in on this tea while it is still available. I have so many favorites from Shang, and they offer sample sizes both in store and online.
