Melon Flakes is a traditional tea that originated from deep within "The Inner Mountain" of Lu'an Guapian, known as "Bat Cave." Across from Bat Cave is Qitou Mountain, or "Flat Head," recognizable from afar by its flattened top. This is where our Melon Flakes is from: it grows in a tea garden right on the flat top of Qitou. The only way to access this peak is by climbing up stone steps for roughly two hours. It is a remote and relatively cool area; after the Qingming Festival tea in Lu'an is only just beginning to sprout. When it does, the elderly women who live in the nearby village travel by foot to harvest the tea from the peak. They carry it down with them on their shoulders to where it can be processed. Guapian, or "Melon Flakes," is the only Chinese tea made entirely from leaves. There are no buds or stems in this tea, and thus it looks noticeably different from every other green tea: it is broad and flattened into flakes, with slightly upturned corners, like slices of melon – hence, the name. The entire process of crafting traditional Melon Flakes takes two full weeks. Considering what it takes to create it, that it is still done at all is quite miraculous. But Melon Flakes stands in a category of its own. The taste of this year's Melon Flake spreads as broadly as its leaves across our palate. This is a particularly verdant harvest, delivering both a vibrant green smell and a vibrant green taste. The flattened, dried tea leaves expand in water until they look like a bloom of sea lettuce or wakame salad in the gaiwan. They brew a glowing yellow liquor with a dense mouthfeel that slides across the palate, leaving a toasted aftertaste that reminds us of genmaicha.
