Huangshan Maofeng is a green tea from the Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) area of Anhui province, China, and one of the country’s official “Ten Famous Teas.”
The name translates roughly to “Yellow Mountain Fur Peak”: “fur” for the fine white down covering the young buds, “peak” for the pointed, slightly curled shape of the finished leaf, sometimes described as “sparrow tongue.” It’s traditionally credited to the Xieyu Da tea house during the Guangxu era of the Qing dynasty, in the late 1800s. Harvest happens in early spring, before the Qingming Festival, and pickers take only the bud plus the one leaf right next to it, which is part of why the finished tea is so light and delicate. Good Huangshan Maofeng has a greenish-yellow liquor, visible silvery down on the leaves, and small golden “fish leaf” pieces near the stem base that experienced buyers look for as a mark of quality. Like most high-grade Chinese green teas, it’s meant to be brewed gently, well under boiling, to avoid scorching the down-covered buds and flattening the tea’s delicate character.
