Once upon a time in a magical land wrapped in a sea of cloud, a beautiful maiden fell deeply in love with a young man. But a cruel fate awaited them. The local lord kidnapped the girl to have her for himself and when she escaped and returned to her village, she discovered her lover had died. She wept inconsolably over his body, and her love-infused tears turned him into a tea bush. The mountain was Huangshan, in Anhui, southeastern China. And the leaves from the magical bush produced one of the most sumptuous green teas the world was ever to tasteâ??Huang Shan Mao Feng.

This lovely legend alone made me want to try this tea. Its bushesâ??whether magical or of a more prosaic originâ??grow amid pine trees, cypresses and clear water springs on the misty foothills of the spectacular Huang Shan, the Yellow mountain. Leaves are plucked very youngâ??just one leaf and a bud covered in silvery fuzz. Add to this that Huang Shan Mao Feng is considered one of the ten best China teas and I couldnâ??t wait to brew it.

Today was the day. I steeped three teaspoons of Special Teasâ?? Huang Shan Mao Feng in six oz. steaming water for two minutes. The cup was a pale golden color with a very delicate, slightly vegetaley aroma with some fleeting flowers. I tried hard to find the peaches that should have supposedly been thereâ??the tea bushes grow next to wild peach trees, according to the vendorâ??and failed miserably. That didnâ??t detract from the cup, though. In the mouth is was very light with a pronounced nutty vegetaley end that reminded me of cashews. The second infusionâ??three minutesâ??was even more delicate and ever so slightly sweeter, although this is by no means a very sweet tea.

It brought to mind those beautifully poetic landscapes by Hiroshige. Who, of course was Japanese. I am sure there must be a Chinese painter who fits this tea even better but I am woefully ignorant when it comes to Chinese art. But you get the gist: Huang Shan Mao Feng is a tea of elegant, intimate scrolls, of birds and blossoms. Perhaps this is the peach that was promised?