Liu An Gua Pian

liù'ān guāpiàn

六安瓜片

The only famous green made from a single leaf — no bud, no stem. Each "melon seed" is one mature leaf, pan-fired and finished over a charcoal basket, giving a full, toasty cup with real body.

Region: Lu'an, Dabie mountains, Anhui
Harvest: Mid-spring — picked as single leaves, no bud
Oxidation: Unoxidised
Cultivar: Local Dabie mountain bushes

In the cup

Toasted chestnut and a savoury, mineral depth — fuller and rounder than most greens, with a long sweet finish.

What it gives

A robust, warming green — more body and more substance than bud teas, with the antioxidant freshness of the class.

Liu An Gua Pian is the odd one out among China’s great greens. Where almost every famous green prizes the youngest bud, Gua Pian is made from a single mature leaf — no bud, no stem — each one trimmed and shaped until it resembles a melon seed, guāpiàn. The result is a green with far more body and toast than the delicate bud teas.

It comes from Lu’an in the Dabie mountains of western Anhui, and the finishing is unusual too: after pan-firing, the leaf is dried in stages over a glowing charcoal basket, which deepens its toasty, savoury character. Done well, the leaf is dark green, slightly curled, and unmistakably full in the cup.

In the cup

Brew a touch hotter than a bud green — around 80–85 °C — to draw out the body. The cup is toasty and chestnut-sweet with a mineral depth and a long, clean finish, and the leaf will give several generous steeps. It is a green for those who find most greens too light.

How to brew