Badaling Yellow

Description

This wonderful tea, although it comes from Yunnan province, actually gets its name from the world famous Badaling section of the Great Wall of China - if you've ever been to China, you can't miss it. Built during the Ming dynasty, Badaling was the first portion of the wall to be restored for the purposes of tourism. It's magnificent towers and great masses of brick stretch along a range of mountains at an elevation of 1000 meters through five counties northwest of Beijing. The name Badaling, translates literally as "stretches in all directions," and comes from this geographical position.

So, how did a tea originating in Yunnan, located to the south of Badaling, end up sharing its name? Well, it's quite a long story. In fact, it is such a long story that our Master Taster, when he first heard it, seated around a kerosene cook-stove in a Yunnan mountain village, stayed seated on his overturned basket for 6 hours. Obviously we can't tell the whole story here. But it goes something like this. A Yunnan girl, the daughter of a local tea farmer who lived about 300 years ago fell in love with a young guard on leave from his post near the Badaling wall. The young man reciprocated her love and the two decide to marry. His plans however did not impress his commander in any way shape or form; he had signed on for a 15 year contract. The young guard was made to return to Badaling, where he pined for his sweetheart for the next 5 years. With another 5 years to go, he could stand the heartache no more and decided to make a break for it. Packing up one cool spring night, he crept off into the forest near the wall. Tragically, his commander captured him and had him beheaded. Upon questioning the young guard's barrack mates, the commander learned of his plan to try and escape to be with his beloved. The commander, as you may have already guessed, was a cruel man, and so sent the young guard's body back to Yunnan in a pine box. The girl received the pine box from Badaling just as she and her father were processing a recent harvest of Meng Ding Huang Ya, their prized grade of yellow tea. As she wept, her tears fell on the baskets of freshly plucked leaf. Seeing her sorrow, the girl's father declared that henceforth, his prize tea would be known as Badaling Yellow in honor of the young guard. The rest as they say is history, and as we mentioned, a much longer story.

One sip of this superb tea will tell you that the farmer couldn't have picked a finer tea upon which to bestow the honor. Hand-picked, hand sorted, and hand processed, Badaling Yellow is a wonderfully light tea with a smooth flavor perfect at any time of day. One can almost taste the history in the refreshing, clean cup. The infusion has a profound depth with a slight grassiness, and nutty undertones that become more pronounced with each sip. Before brewing, note the slight waxy quality of the leaf, the result of the unique hand process - each tiny sprout measures roughly 5 mm in length - truly a beautiful tea. Raise a steaming cup today in memory of lost love.

Steeping Instructions

IDEAL BREWING TEMPERATURE: 85ºC/185ºF. For Food Safety reasons bring water to 100ºC/212ºF and let it cool down to 85ºC/185ºF.

ANTIOXIDANT BENEFIT: For a greater antioxidant benefit brew longer and use more tea.

FOOD SAFETY ADVISORY: We strongly recommend using filtered or freshly drawn cold water brought to a rolling boil when brewing all types of tea. Today's water has been known to carry viruses, parasites and bacteria. Boiling the water will kill these elements and reduce the potential incidence of water-borne illnesses.

Epic Iced Tea Instructions

Tea isn't just served hot!  Iced tea is one of the most refreshing and natural thirst quenchers around the world.  Here is our suggested method of brewing the best iced tea.

ICED TEA BREWING METHOD (Pitcher): (To Make 1 Liter/Quart):

1. Place 6 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea or 6 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher.
2. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 1¼ cups/315ml over the tea.
3. Steep for 5 minutes.
4. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water.
5. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the bags.
6. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
7. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase
8. the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water.

Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about.

ICED TEA BREWING METHOD (Individual Serving):

1. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea or 1 tea bag into a teapot for each serving required.
2. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6-7oz/170-200ml per serving over the tea.
3. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes.
4. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags.
5. Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional ½ serving.
6. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted.

Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about.

HERB & FRUIT ICED TEA BREWING METHOD (Pitcher): (To Make 1 Liter/Quart):

1. Place 12 slightly heaping teaspoons of herb & fruit blend or 6 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher.
2. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 1¼ cups/315ml over the herb & fruit blend.
3. Steep for 5-10 minutes.
4. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water.
5. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the tea bags.
6. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
7. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced herb & fruit tea is to increase the strength of hot brew since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water.

HERB & FRUIT ICED TEA BREWING METHOD (Individual Serving):

1. Place 2 slightly heaping teaspoons of herb & fruit blend or 1 tea bag into a teapot for each serving required.
2. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6-7oz/170-200ml per serving over the herb & fruit blend.
3. Cover and let steep for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags.
5. Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional ½ serving. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
6. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed herb & fruit tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted.