Almond sweetness opens the first sip, followed by a clean floral lift and a cool mint finish that lingers. The pale green liquor is deceptively simple — the leaves come from Qing Xin Gan Zhi (青心甘仔, meaning "sweet heart" in Chinese), Taiwan's most prized oolong cultivar, yet the leaf never becomes oolong. It stays green. What You'll Taste The first steep delivers soft almond sweetness and gentle florals across a silky, light body — pale green in the cup, barely tinted. By the third round, green-apple brightness appears and the mint note sharpens into clarity, giving each steep a different angle to explore. A forgiving cup for afternoon brewing or focused work, with sweetness that stays consistent through many rounds. Where It Grows The Yu family garden sits in Mingjian, Nantou County, Taiwan at 350 meters, surrounded by rolling hills of betel nut and tea. Bushes here are over 30 years old, grown under nature farming — no synthetic inputs, minimal intervention, deep roots drawing from mature soil. This March 2025 harvest captures early spring energy from a region better known for producing Taiwanese tea in the oolong style. How It's Made Most Qing Xin Gan Zhi leaf goes through withering and oxidation before roasting to become oolong, but Green Heart skips all of that. After picking, the leaves are pan-fired quickly to halt oxidation, then shaped and dried in raw form. The result is a green tea that carries the cultivar's natural sweetness and complexity forward untouched. Green Heart delivers the depth of a fine Taiwanese oolong cultivar in a bright, unroasted form. Each 25g pouch gives you roughly five sessions. If you enjoy the Yu garden's character, try the Emerald GABA from the same source for a different expression of Mingjian leaf. Brewing Guide Use 5g of leaf in 100ml of water at 80°C. Start with a 30-second steep, then add 10 seconds per round. Temperature matters here: boiling water pushes bitterness into the cup, so keep it at 80°C and these leaves will resteep freely, holding flavor across six or more rounds. FAQ What is Green Heart tea? Green Heart is a green tea made from Qing Xin Gan Zhi (青心甘仔, "sweet heart"), the cultivar behind Taiwan's finest oolongs. Instead of the withering and roasting that produce oolong, these leaves are pan-fired after harvest to preserve their fresh, bright character. How does Green Heart compare to Emerald GABA? Both come from the Yu family garden in Mingjian. Emerald GABA undergoes a nitrogen-sealed process that builds umami depth and a calming effect. Green Heart is crisper, more floral, and lets the cultivar's natural almond sweetness lead; choose GABA for evening calm, Green Heart for a bright cup. Why does water temperature matter so much for Green Heart? At 80°C, amino acids that create sweetness and florals dissolve readily. Higher temperatures extract catechins faster, shifting the balance toward astringency and masking the almond and mint notes that define the cup. Is Green Heart tea the same as Qing Xin oolong? Same cultivar, different processing. Qing Xin oolongs go through withering, partial oxidation, and roasting. Green Heart skips those steps, so the leaf's raw sweetness and floral clarity stay intact.
