The origin of our Suitong Cha ("Coin Breaker") green tea is truly special. It comes from the highly legendary Shaowu Mountains in China. The place is known to have been the home of the legendary Taoist master Zhang Sanfeng, who pioneered the development of internal arts such as Tai Chi. The tea plants for our Suitong Cha grow in the immediate vicinity of the small monastery where he is said to have stayed. The secluded mountain terroir at an altitude of over 1400m above the sea level must have been perfect for the master's strict self-cultivation, but at the same time it is ideal for growing and cultivating high quality tea. The mineral-rich soil and the alternation of sun and clouds, characterized by a lot of precipitation, were and are perfect conditions for the flourishing of particularly, healthy and nutrient-rich plants. Many plants still originate from the first plantings and are well over 100 years old. The rocky terroir allows only a limited sowing of new plants, so that the crop yield remains low each year, making this tea a real rarity.
Harvest
The leaves for the Suitong Cha come from the first harvest of the year. The altitude of over 1400m and the associated lower solar radiation leads to a slowed growth of the plant, thus the first buds form very late in mid / late April. During the harvest itself, meticulous care is taken to include only perfect, undamaged leaves.
Processing Method
In terms of production, Suitong Cha is not fundamentally different from other Chinese green teas. The harvesting of the leaves is followed by a short withering period, after which the leaves are then heated, typically in a large wok. This roasting of the tea leaves is also known as "Kill Green" (青鍋 Qing Gu), which means that the enzymatic oxidation/ripening of the leaves is stopped by added heat. This is the crucial step that ultimately defines the tea as green tea. This is then followed by multiple drying cycles in a specially designed oven.
Etymology
The name of the tea Suitong Cha "Coin Breaker" goes back to an old tale, according to which the tea is actually able to break metal in the form of copper or coins, if you take the metal object together with a larger amount of tea for a minute in the mouth and mix with saliva. When the tea is spat out, it is said that the metal has been loosened or broken. We have not yet been able to verify this fascinating tea property ourselves.
Single Origin
The tea comes 100% from the above tea field in the Shaowu Mountains in China.
