Shan First Flush Green Tea

This week we’ll be reviewing Shan First Flush Green Tea. Tea plants are harvested several times a season. The first pick of each season is known as the first flush. It signifies the freshest growth of the tea plant, and tends to fetch high prices. If you would like to compare the difference, get a sample of this tea and our standard Valley Green Tea and try them together.

This is a loose leaf tea suitable for multiple steepings. The smell of the leaves is extremely vegetal. It’s almost like wakame seaweed, but cleaner. As with all our green teas, we steeped some at 175 degrees for 4 minutes in 10 oz of water. The brewed liquid still retains a faint scent of the wakame, but the dominant note is the astringent green tea scent.

First flush teas tend to be very light in flavor compared to tea later in the season, and Shan First Flush Green Tea is no exception. This is a very delicate tea that should be drunk without added sweeteners or milk. These would overpower the flavor. There is definitely a green tea flavor, but it’s very ephemeral. It floats into the palate. If you have a loved one that doesn’t like standard black teas, they may like the far more delicate flavor of this tea.

This would be an excellent tea between courses or for an afternoon tea. It is a tea to taste slowly while sitting on your porch. Subtle and sensitive, Shan First Flush Green Tea is an excellent addition to your tea cabinet. Try a sample today and let us know what you think of it.


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