Liu An Gua Pian (Melon Seed)
Lu An Gua Pian (also written Liu An, melon seed) is the only notable Chinese green made from single mature leaves alone, with no bud and no stem: each leaf is picked individually, giving the flat, seed-shaped pieces the name describes. From Anhui, the no-bud approach yields a fuller, more robust and mellow green than bud-driven teas, with a clean vegetal sweetness and good endurance across infusions.
Flat, single leaves shaped like melon seeds, deep green, with no buds or stems present; their absence is the defining trait and a sign of correct processing. The cup is mellow, full-bodied for a green, and cleanly vegetal-sweet with a toasty edge from the firing. Core-area Lu An (Anhui) material is the benchmark, while uneven color or stem and bud content indicates a lesser imitation.
From the Lu An area of Anhui, particularly around Qiyun Mountain (Qishan) in Jinzhai County and the neighboring Huoshan and Yu'an areas. The unusual no-bud, no-stem picking and a charcoal-baking finish are the craft signatures. It is counted among China's ten famous teas and, unusually for a green, leans on mature leaf for body rather than tender buds for delicacy.
Western: 80-85°C, 3 g per 200 ml, 2-3 minutes; the mature leaf tolerates slightly hotter water than a bud green. Gongfu: 85°C, 4 g per 130 ml, 25-35 seconds ascending, 3-5 infusions. The robust leaf holds up across more steeps than most greens.
Lu An Gua Pian style green runs €15-35 (about $16-38) per 100 g. Core-area early-spring hand-processed material reaches €45-100 (about $49-108) per 100 g.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Longjing (Dragon Well)
The bud-and-leaf benchmark green, more delicate and nutty than this all-mature-leaf style.
Taiping Houkui
The other big-leaf Anhui green, but pressed flat and orchid-scented rather than seed-shaped and mellow.
Liu An Hei Cha (Basket Tea)
The Anhui dark tea of a confusingly similar name, a completely different post-fermented category.
Lu An Gua Pian is one of very few green teas made deliberately without any bud, on the reasoning that the mature leaf carries more flavor and body. The individual-leaf picking and traditional charcoal basket-baking make it labor-intensive, and it has a long history as a tribute and gift tea.