Located to the north-west of Shanghai, Jiangsu is 8th largest tea producing province in China in terms of value. Despite that it enjoys disproportionate amount fame because of its 2 most famous products, 1 of which is not a tea.
Green Teas
Dongting Biluochun
Mention green tea and the second name that pops to mind is Dongting Biluochun after Xihu Longjing of course.
Grown on the shores of Lake Tai which are full of fruit trees such as plums and pipa, the cross-pollination from the bees provide Dongting Biluochun with its distinct fruity taste.
Together with its exquisite craftsmanship, Dongting Biluochun is a perennial listing on any given rendition of China’s Top 10 Famous Teas.
While many other regions- Yunnan, Shandong, Sichuan among them- attempt to mimic the appearance, the flavor is inferior to the unique genuine Biluochun.
This is a relatively new tea that has sprung to prominence in recent years for its brisk taste and visual appeal, especially when prepared in a glass.
Created in 1950s, just after the tumultuous years of the Japanese invasion and the Chinese civil war, Nanjing Yuhua tea was so named after the Yuhua Tai natural reserve in Nanjing where it was first grown.
Though it has often been clumsily translated as Nanjing Rain Flower Tea, applying the translation principle that geographical locations are not translated, we feel the Hanyu Pinyin name would be more appropriate.
Yang Xian Snow Buds
Grown in the township of Yixing (yes, THAT Yixing which we will get to in a bid), Yang Xian Snow Buds was named after the historic name of Yixing- Yang Xian- and the appearance of its buds which are covered in downy fur.
This physical appearance is attributable to the fact that it is grown primarily with the Dabaicha cultivar, used primarily in Silver Needles and White Peony.
This in itself makes it an intriguing tea to me, the higher amino acid content of the Daibaicha cultivar would provide the brisk quality that I favor in green teas.
Black Teas
For many years, production of black tea was shrinking in Jiangsu, as it had done in most of China. Producers find green tea provided better returns and increasingly farms made the switch.
As I mentioned many times though, times are changing in China. While export black teas provide lower returns than internally sold green teas, an increasing local demand for black tea led to newer varieties as well as resurrected traditional favorites of high quality making its way to local Chinese markets.
I had the chance to try a Yixing Black tea a couple of months back, was certainly something worth another look at, perhaps something in the pipelines.
Yixing Pots
The Purple Clay mined from Huanglong Moutain in Yixing is synonymous with the best tea pots in the world some of which can command astronomical prices.
For mere mortals like us though, there can be relatively affordable pots that are pretty good, just as long as you are not caught up in pursuing works by famous artists like the Xu Xiutang and Li Cang Hong of this world.
Read about other tea producing provinces here