Cai Cha

Like a gentleman farmer, this green tea is easygoing and smooth, with a touch of refinement and without pretension. 'Cai cha' is a loose term for a local landrace variety of tea, as opposed to a cultivar reproduced by clonal cuttings, which are also known as 'lao tu cha', meaning 'old soil tea', and somewhat more formally as 'qun ti zhong', literally 'community variety'. While the limpid infusion with a typical touch of haricots verts might seem rather quotidian, the surprising milky softness of the first infusions, with distinctly caramel sweetness and gentle spice, as turmeric or vanilla, make this not only perfectly refreshing but also a tea worth inviting over for any occasion.