How nutty teas get their flavour
The toasty, nutty character in these teas is not flavouring, it's a product of heat and craft. The mechanism is the same one responsible for the crust on bread or the caramel depth of a roasted coffee bean: the Maillard reaction, a chemical process that occurs when amino acids and natural sugars meet high heat and produce complex new flavour compounds. Applied to tea, it creates the warm, roasted depth that defines this collection.
Dragon Well, one of China's most celebrated green teas, develops its characteristic chestnut note through pan-firing: leaves pressed against the hot surface of a wok by hand, flattening them into their distinctive sword shape while developing roasted complexity in the process.
Gen Mai Cha takes a different approach, blending Japanese green tea with toasted and popped rice until the grain's warmth becomes inseparable from the tea base. Jade Mountain takes that same base and layers in hazelnut brittle, cocoa husks, and almonds for a richer, more indulgent expression.
FAQ
What is the difference between Lung Ching Classic and Mingqian Lung Ching?
Both are Dragon Well green teas from the Longjing region of Zhejiang province, processed using the same pan-firing tradition. The difference is harvest timing. Lung Ching Classic comes from the main season harvest and offers the full, accessible chestnut character that makes Dragon Well one of China's most recognised teas. Mingqian means pre-Qingming, the rare and precious harvest window before the Qingming Festival in early April, a shorter window, more labour-intensive, producing smaller, more tender leaves and a more refined, complex cup. Same tea, different level of precision.
What is Gen Mai Cha and how is it made?
Gen Mai Cha is a Japanese green tea blended with genmai — toasted rice, often partially popped. The rice is soaked, steamed, dried, then roasted until some grains pop, which is why Gen Mai Cha is sometimes called "popcorn tea." It emerged as a practical way to make expensive green tea go further, but the combination of clean, grassy green tea with warm, toasty rice became beloved in its own right. T2's Japanese Gen Mai Cha Sencha uses a sencha base, which gives a slightly brighter, more vegetal cup than versions built on lower-grade green tea.
