Liu An Gua Pian
The only well-known Chinese green tea made from leaf alone — no bud, no stem. Each leaf is picked individually, de-veined, pan-fired and then finished over charcoal, giving flat oval pieces that resemble melon seeds and a cup with an unusual toasted depth for a green tea.
Character
Fuller-bodied and more toasted than other Chinese greens, because the material is mature leaf and the finish is over charcoal. A useful counterexample for anyone who thinks green tea means bud-heavy and delicate.
- Flavour
- Roasted, Nutty, Sweet
- Aroma
- Toasted
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Smooth
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Notes
- toasted chestnut, charcoal, sweet grass, melon
- Aftertaste
- Toasty and sweet, with more weight than a typical green tea.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- China
- Oxidation
- Unoxidised
- Roast
- Light
- Harvest
- Spring
- Processing
- Withering → Kill-green (fixation) → Roasting → Drying
History
A tribute tea under the Qing dynasty, and unique among famous Chinese greens in discarding both bud and stem to use a single mature leaf. The practice is labour-intensive and was nearly abandoned in the twentieth century before being revived commercially.
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1.5–2.5 g/100 ml · 80–90 °C · 1 authored infusion
Grandpa style
0.5–1 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
3–4 g/100 ml · 75–85 °C · 4 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
Common mistakes
- Brewing it as gently as a bud tea, which leaves it hollow
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Hojicha
Both green teas finished over heat, both toasted rather than grassy.
- Wuyuan Ming Mei
Two Anhui and Jiangxi greens rarely seen outside China. Liu An Gua Pian’s single-mature-leaf plucking makes it genuinely unusual; the other is a competent regional green.
- Lu An Gua Pian (Melon Seed)
The same tea at two picking times, sold under the Chinese and translated names. Later picking gives a heavier, more roasted cup.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Yuan An Lu Yuan
Shares 6 descriptors with Liu An Gua Pian: roasted, nutty, sweet, medium, smooth and toasted.
- Beigang Mao Jian
Shares 5 descriptors with Liu An Gua Pian: sweet, nutty, medium, smooth and toasted.
- Dong Ding
Shares 5 descriptors with Liu An Gua Pian: roasted, nutty, sweet, smooth and toasted.
- Huoshan Huang Da Cha
Shares 5 descriptors with Liu An Gua Pian: roasted, nutty, sweet, smooth and toasted.
- Kamairicha
Shares 5 descriptors with Liu An Gua Pian: nutty, roasted, medium, smooth and toasted.