Ajar in History: Manyingtai Solidarity Combo 【Individual Jars Now Available】

【Individual Jars Now Available】

It is said that Americans will use anything but the metric system. As yankees make up about 9/10ths of our customer base, we thought it prudent to offer fellow freedom-loving patriots a jar of mingqian green tea for the price of just five Big-Mac® Meals. That's right, for just 50 dollars you can enjoy 100 grams of Mingqian green tea lovingly stuffed inside one 650~ ml earthenware jug.  

The earthenware jar / jug (茶罐) is part of a much older way of brewing tea that predates the gongfu or glassware styles. Following this style, tea is to be pre-cooked dry in this vessel over a fire, and then boiled. Click here to learn more. Most anciently, the tea would be paired with fruits and other herbs. In Enshi, green tea was consumed this way widely until about 30 years ago. Rather than using personal cups or glasses, the jug could be passed around family and friends, with each person taking a sip. Brewing green, white, or puer tea in this way provides an entirely different flavor profile and experience.

In this combo, you can choose between either Maojian or Cuizhen. The former is made from more down-heavy cultivars like Echa #1 and the indigenous cultivar; the latter is made from Pingyangtezao and the Longjing #43 cultivars, giving it a greener shape. These cultivars also matured at different times, such the Cuizhen was made a few days earlier than the Maojian, but both were still picked well before the April 5th cut off. Both of these teas provide a sweetness and crispness expected from a tea of this season; Both of these teas will be the basis of further dividends to the farmers this coming July. See the third image for a complete breakdown of the ten farming households in Manyingtai that helped make these two teas.