Guzhu Zi Sun (顧渚紫筍)
archetype: Violet shoot in the misty valley
An imperial violet shoot: an ancient valley, a bamboo coolness, a thin orchid bitterness.
History
Gu Zhu Zi Sun — 'violet bamboo shoot from Mount Guzhu' — is one of the oldest imperial teas of China. Lu Yu, author of the 'Classic of Tea' (760), wrote of it as the best tea of the Tang empire. From 770 it was 'gong cha' (tribute tea); each year, at Qingming, the imperial court received the first harvest. For several centuries the tea was forgotten, and was only revived in 1979, from Lu Yu's descriptions.
Terroir
The standard is leaf from the northern slope of Mount Gu Zhu, where the imperial tea factory once stood.
Leaf
violet bamboo shoot, orchid, chestnut, a thin grassy depth long, thin, a slight bitterness in the finish — an 'ancient voice'
Properties
rich in theanine, moderate catechins; gentle stimulation, good for concentration light, rising, ancient; felt as 'time running backward' moderate (30–45 mg)
Brewing ritual
a 150 ml gaiwan; 80 °C; 4 g / 150 ml. 25s — the first opening: violet shoot, orchid; 35s — the peak: chestnut, a thin grassy depth; 55s — a long echo of antiquity; 80s — the finale — a thin trail of bitterness.
When to drink
morning and day. spring. for slow reflection, before writing something important, on a day of remembrance