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Lu'an Melon Seed (Chinese:六安瓜片;pinyin:Lù'ān guāpiàn; pronounced[lûán kwápʰjɛ̂n]), also known asLu'an Leaf, is agreen tea fromLu'an City,Anhui Province,China. This is a famous green tea and is listed on virtually alllists of famous Chinese teas. The literal translation for Lu'an Guapian Tea is Lu'an Melon Seed Tea.
Lu'an Melon Seed Tea's name is derived from the shape of the processed tea leaves, which are flat and oval and resemble a melon seed. Unlike most green teas which use the new buds in making tea, Lu'an Melon Seed Tea uses the second leaf on the branch. Each leaf's central vein is removed and the leaves are pan fried and shaped to stop oxidizing enzymes and dry the tea.[1]
According to historical texts,[which?] Lu'an Melon Seed Tea was first recorded inThe Classic of Tea.[2]
The Classic of Tea was the first book about general tea knowledge, and contained a brief introduction about tea categories and how to prepare tea. It was written byLu Yu (733–804 CE) during theTang dynasty (618–907 CE). In contrast to the processing methods for other kinds of green tea such asLongjing, Lu'an Melon Seed Tea is a baked green tea which causes the taste of the tea to be different from other types of green tea in China.
During theMing dynasty (1368–1644), Lu'an Melon Seed Tea was widely used to preventsunstroke by the Chinese.[3] The Chinese ChristianXu Guangqi (1562–1633), who was also a well-known scientist writing in hisAgricultural Encyclopedia that "laminar tea fromLu'an Prefecture is a top-grade tea".[2]
Lu'an Melon Seed Tea was a type ofgong cha ("tribute tea") to the imperial family during theQing dynasty (1644–1911). It was enjoyed by theGuangxu Emperor (r. 1878–1908) andEmpress Dowager Cixi (r. 1861–1908). Lu'an Melon Seed Tea was also mentioned about 80 times by the writerCao Xueqin (1715–1763) in his novelDream of the Red Chamber.[2]
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