Unique green tea promoted at Laoshe Teahouse

Lu'an Melon Seed tea (literally Lu'an Gua Pian), one of China's top green teas, was promoted during a tasting fair at Beijing's Laoshe Teahouse, which also showcased Chinese opera and Beijing's local culture on Friday, June 20, 2014.

The photo taken on Friday, June 20, 2014, shows Dawancha (Big Bowl Tea) and a number of traditional Beijing snacks at Laoshe Teahouse in Beijing.

Lu'an Melon Seed Tea gains its name from the shape of the processed tea leaves, which are flat and oval shaped, resembling a melon seed. Unlike other green teas which utilize new buds in making tea, Lu'an Gua Pian uses the second leaf on the branch. Each leaf's central vein is removed and the leaves are pan fried and shaped.

The uniqueness of the tea should be known by more domestic and international tea drinkers, and more noted brands of the tea should be built and promoted, said Yin Zhijun, the chairwoman of Laoshe Teahouse, a traditional style teahouse popular with tourists.

The history of Lu'an Gua Pian dates back to the Tang Dynasty when it was first recorded in the book called The Classics of Tea, the first large-scale document about general tea-drinking habits within China.

The tea is mainly grown in the Dabie Mountain region, Lu'an County in East China's Anhui Province. According to Yin Zhijun, Anhui merchants are unostentatious and diligent and the organic tea parks are amazing in terms of scale and operation. "We have been connecting the tea production process and the marketing process with the internet, and have boosted the amount of electronic business for our tea products," said Zeng Shengchun, chairman of Hui Liu, a noted brand of Lu'an Gua Pian and vice-president of the China Tea Marketing Association. The ten most famous Chinese teas include Long Jing (Dragon well) , Ti Kuan Yin, Qimen oolong tea, Lu'an Gua Pian, Xinyang Mao Jian, Junshan Silver Needle, Bi Luo Chun, Mount Lu Yunwu Tea, Mount Huang Maofeng and Wuyi Yan Tea.