Gunpowder Green Tea: What It Is, How It Tastes and How to Brew It
Teatentional
Drop a spoonful of gunpowder green tea into a cup and it looks like a pile of tiny gray-green pebbles. Pour on hot water and the pellets slowly unroll into whole leaves. It is one of the most recognizable teas in the world, and one of the oldest teas traded beyond China.
What Is Gunpowder Green Tea?
Gunpowder is a Chinese green tea in which each leaf is rolled into a small, tight ball. In Chinese it is called zhu cha, which means "pearl tea." The English name likely comes from the way the pellets resemble the grains of black powder once used in old guns.
Rolling the leaves this tightly does two things. It protects them from air and light, so gunpowder keeps its flavor longer than flat, loose green teas. And it makes the tea compact and easy to ship, which helped make it one of the first teas sold widely outside China.
Where It Comes From
Gunpowder tea is traditionally made in Zhejiang province, on China's east coast, one of the country's biggest green tea regions. The classic style is named after the area of Pingshui, and higher grades are often sold under names like "Temple of Heaven" or "Pinhead," meaning the pellets are especially small and tightly rolled. Smaller, shinier, more even pellets usually mean better tea. Gunpowder-style tea is also made in Taiwan and other countries.
It is part of the long line of Chinese green teas described in Chinese Tea Culture.
What Does It Taste Like?
Gunpowder is bolder than most green teas. It has a full body and a slightly smoky, toasty flavor from being heated and rolled, with a grassy, vegetal freshness underneath. Brewed too hot or too long, it turns bitter, so it pays to be gentle.
The Base of Moroccan Mint Tea
Gunpowder's strongest claim to fame is in North Africa. Chinese green tea reached Morocco through trade in the 1700s and 1800s, and gunpowder became the standard tea for Moroccan mint tea, brewed with fresh spearmint and plenty of sugar and poured from a height. Its bold, smoky flavor stands up to all that mint and sugar where a delicate green tea would get lost. Morocco still imports large amounts of Chinese green tea for this reason. Read the full story in Moroccan Mint Tea: History and How to Make It.
Does Gunpowder Tea Have Caffeine?
Yes. As a green tea, it has caffeine, usually less than black tea or coffee. The amount depends on how much leaf you use and how long you steep it.
How to Brew Gunpowder Green Tea
- Use less leaf than you think: the pellets expand a lot. About ½ to 1 teaspoon per 8 oz is enough.
- Use cooler water: about 175 to 185°F. Boiling water makes it bitter.
- Steep short: 2 to 3 minutes.
- Re-steep: the leaves are good for 2 or 3 more cups. Add 30 seconds each time.
Watching the pellets unfurl is part of the fun, so a clear glass mug or teapot is a nice touch. Our 16 oz glass travel infuser mug lets you see it happen.
Ways to Enjoy It
- Plain: a bold, smoky green tea for the afternoon.
- With mint: the Moroccan way, with fresh spearmint and sugar.
- Iced: brew double strength, sweeten while hot and pour over ice with mint. It makes a refreshing summer drink for Portland's dry, sunny months.
Our Gunpowder Green Tea Blend
Moroccan Mint
Our Moroccan Mint starts with gunpowder green tea and adds organic peppermint and spearmint, so the mint is already in the blend. Steep 1 teaspoon in 8 oz of water at 175°F for 2 to 3 minutes, and sweeten in the traditional style if you like.
Steep intentionally. Sip with intention.
Related Reading
Read Moroccan Mint Tea: History and How to Make It, Chinese Tea Culture and The History of Tea.
