Lu’an Guapian

Leaves without buds#

Separate leaves, rather than intact bud-and-leaf shoots, define this style. The curled edges and seed-like outline explain the name Guapian; it contains no melon seeds.

Taiping Houkui retains a bud with two leaves, whereas Guapian separates out buds and stems. Both are green teas, but their raw-material selection and shaping traditions make them poor candidates for a single universal rule that 'more buds means better tea'.

Pan work and three bakes#

Leaf separation is followed by two stages of pan work and successive baking stages. The final strong bake, called la laohuo, is an important part of the documented traditional process.

Lu'an's culture bureau describes different handling for tender and older separated leaves: pan temperature, batch size and pressure are adjusted to the material. The leaves then pass through three baking stages, with the final la laohuo (拉老火) particularly important to colour, aroma and shape. This is a process designed around leaves, not a bud tea with its buds accidentally missing.

Brief heat, repeated many times#

Zhongguo mingchazhi (2000, p. 209) describes the final baking as repeated brief exposures: workers lift a basket onto the heat, remove it and turn the leaves before returning. The number of passes varies with weather and leaf tenderness. Its warning that excessive baking yellows the liquor, while insufficient baking leaves a weak aroma and raw character, explains the importance of judging the leaf rather than following a fixed count.