Guzhu purple bamboo shoots

Guzhu purple bamboo shoots, also known as Huzhou purple bamboo shoots and Changxing purple bamboo shoots, are produced in Guzhu Mountain area of Shuikou Township, Changxing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. They belong to green tea and are traditional famous teas in Zhejiang Province. Because of its exquisite tea-making technology, delicate tea buds, purple color and shape like bamboo shoots, it is named purple bamboo shoot tea. Guzhu Mountain is located in the northwest of Changxing, east of Taihu Lake, surrounded by mountains on three sides, filled with mist, mild climate, fertile soil, abundant rainfall and flowing clear water under the mountain. This unique ecological environment has created the most ideal conditions for the production of purple bamboo shoot tea. Guzhu purple bamboo shoot tea is picked every year from Qingming to Grain Rain, and the tea buds with one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves are picked. After the fresh leaves are harvested, they need to be spread for 5-6 hours, and fried when the water content drops to about 72% and gives off a fragrance. Its production goes through the processes of spreading, deactivating enzymes, tidying, spreading, cooling, primary baking and secondary baking. The best tea buds and leaves are like bamboo shoots; The tender leaves of superior tea buds are slightly spread, shaped like orchids. This kind of tea is semi-fried and baked, which is both fried and baked in a pot, so its shape is compact and complete. The aroma is rich, the soup is clear, the tea tastes fresh and mellow, and the aftertaste is sweet. When the best purple bamboo shoot tea is brewed, the local high-quality teapot is selected. The tea soup is green in color, fresh and refreshing in taste, and vaguely contains the fragrance of orchids. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Guzhu purple bamboo shoots were regarded as "the first in tea" by Cha Sheng Lu Yu. In 770 AD, Guzhu purple bamboo shoots were officially listed as tribute tea, which became a must-have item for the Qingming banquet of the Tang Dynasty. It has been more than 1,200 years and is the earliest recorded tribute tea in history. From the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the 1940s, Gu Zisun tea gradually disappeared. In the late 1970s, in order to restore the famous purple bamboo shoot tea, the relevant units in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province cooperated closely to re-produce and cultivate purple bamboo shoot tea, and this tea was able to regain its fame. Since its trial production in 1979, it has been rated as a high-quality tea at the ministerial or provincial level. In 1979, Guzhu purple bamboo tea was listed as a famous tea at the Zhejiang Famous Tea Council. In 1986, Guzhu Zizun Tea was awarded as a famous tea in China at the national quality product selection meeting of scented tea and oolong tea.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)