Gunpowder Supreme Green Tea – Loose Leaf

Enjoyed for centuries since the Tang Dynasty, Gunpowder Green Tea is a prized traditional export of China. Superior quality green tea leaves are tightly rolled into tiny pearls and dried over wood fires, taking on a subtle smokiness in the process. Our Gunpowder Supreme Green is our finest gunpowder expression, rich with the characteristic sweetness of fresh summer grass and the subtle smokiness of smouldering oak. It’s a superior blend that every green tea lover should experience.

This style of tea gets its name from the shot-like appearance of the rolled tea leaves. It’s renowned for its full-bodied flavour and is stronger than many green teas. ‘Gunpowder’ became a popular tea processing method as rolling the pellets locks in the flavour and aromas, releasing them again once they’re steeped in hot water. The tea also proved robust when being shipped, in comparison to other whole leaf teas. This made distribution across the continents easier, with traders safe in the knowledge that their tea would arrive with its quality intact. Gunpowder tea is now enjoyed all over the world. In North Africa it’s served ceremoniously with lashings of sugar and fresh mint. Elsewhere it’s popular as a brisk, refreshing cuppa brewed with just hot water.

To create this superior infusion, our Tea Masters source the youngest, largest leaves from the Zhejiang province of China. It’s only these high-quality leaves that can withstand the ‘gunpowder’ process of withering, steaming, rolling and then fire-drying. Gunpowder Supreme Green is our finest edition of this popular tea. We ensure the tea leaves are rolled extra tightly and are darker and more polished than our standard gunpowder. This results in a stronger, yet more subtle and complex green tea once brewed. It creates a deliciously bright infusion with prominent summer grass and background smoky notes. Enjoy a cup throughout a day, perhaps with a slice of lemon to complements the tea’s flavour.

While gunpowder tea’s rolling process locks in flavour, we also foil-wrap this large leaf blend to ensure it reaches you as fresh as the day it was dried. We recommend brewing the tea in hot water around at 85°C. This ensures the natural goodness of the tea is preserved, without any bitterness being drawn out. Simply pour freshly boiled water into your cup or pot and leave it for two to three minutes before adding the tea, or use a kettle with variable temperature setting.

Watch as the pearls unfurl in your cup and steep into a pretty honey-coloured infusion. Not only does it boast a rich green tea flavour, our Gunpowder Supreme is also packed with antioxidants and is known to aid healthy digestion, making it a wonderfully restorative, soothing infusion. It’s a great afternoon or evening brew, or try it iced on hot summer days. Simply add a little sugar to a strong Gunpowder Supreme infusion, then dilute with chilled water and ice. Add lemon and a sprig of mint to create a refined iced tea refresher – ideal served by the jug-full in the afternoon sunshine.