Chinese Tea Mythology: Yellow Mountain Fur Peak

This green tea (also known as Huangshan Maofeng) is grown in the mountains of Huangshan (which translates to Yellow Mountain) in the Anhui province of China.  The rest of the tea’s name is derived from the furry down that is found on the bud when picked.  Once brewed, the tea becomes a yellow liquid that is well known for its flowery flavor.  It is said to have a gentle flavor of apricots and orchids.

The legend of this tea’s origin is actually a love story.

There was once a beautiful young tea picker.  She had fallen in love with a young and handsome scholar and he, too, was in love with her.  Their love was not meant to be.  A wealthy landowner saw the tea picker one day and became mesmerized with her beauty.  He knew that he must have her.  He went to the tea picker’s parents and convinced them to allow him to marry their daughter.  On the night before her wedding, the beautiful tea picker snuck out of her house and ran to her lover’s home.  She had wanted to see her handsome scholar at least one more time before she was wed to another man.  When she arrived at the scholar’s home, she was horrified to find that her lover had been murdered by the wealthy landowner.  The tea picker managed to find her lover’s grave.  She sat at the grave and wept.  She wept for days and nights until eventually she turned into the rain itself.  She continued to rain onto the grave until the first Maofeng tree grew.  The scholar’s body had become the tree.

What do you think of this story, dear readers?  Like any other myth on tea is full of magic and mystery.  I think it is a beautiful story.