Description
$1 from every pouch purchased is donated to Old Dog Haven, a Washington State non-profit shelter for abandoned senior dogs. Learn more about their work here.
Some of our teas draw inspiration from the dogs they’re based on because of a story or a common location. Others are attempts to capture an attitude. The Bergamasco Sheepdog Long-Leaf Green, however, is all about aesthetics. The second we saw this tea with its luxuriously lengthy leaves, we thought of the long strands of matted fur of the Bergamasco Sheepdog.
For those on Team Big Dog, this is just about the floofiest big dog you can find. Over the course of its life, the breed develops three separate coats that wind together and give the dog this extremely memorable look, like felted, flat braids cascading down to the ground. If you haven’t seen one, check it out. This dog hails from the mountains of Italy, where it helped tend the herds. Despite being known for its fur this dog is actually hypoallergenic. The way the fur mats and grows keeps it from shedding, which makes it one to consider for those who are allergic to doggie dander. It is also a very rare breed in the US, ranked 187th out of 196 on the American Kennel Club’s roster for popularity.
To make the cut of our Rare Breed Collection, a tea must be among the best in its class or exceptionally unique. The first thing you notice about this tea, like the dog we’ve named it for, is the visual appeal. Where most teas are either dried and twisted or balled up, or cut into small pieces, this tea’s leaves have been left intact and flat. The taste doesn’t disappoint either; it brews up nicely, with a lively green tea flavor and none of that grassy taste you can get from lower-quality greens. The rarity of this tea variety comes from its hand-crafted nature. It is picked only in the Anhui Province of China during the month of March, early in the season, then hand-sorted and processed. The word ‘artisanal’ is thrown around a lot these days by big corporations as a marketing gimmick, we know, but here the artisanal nature really shows, both in the presentation and the flavor. The early-harvest picking really infuses a brightness into the taste.
As this is one of our Rare Breed Collection teas, we hope you’ll take the time to brew it properly. Green tea can be especially tricky because you can burn the leaves by steeping it at a full boil. You want to steep this tea far below a boil, at about 175 degrees and only for one minute. Don’t oversteep or you will get a bitter drink. We don’t say this to intimidate anyone, we simply want to emphasize that these are not teas you just stick in a tea bag and forget. And please re-steep this tea! You’re paying for it, so why not brew up a second or third cup using the same leaves? We’ve picked the teas in our Rare Breed Collection because they truly taste exceptional, and we want you to enjoy the experience.
Bergamasco Sheepdog Long-Leaf Green is part of the Leash and Leaf Rare Breed Collection, hard-to-find teas of exceptionally fine quality. Part of our mission is to make these expensive teas accessible to all tea enthusiasts, so we maintain our $11 pricing for these rare teas and adjust the amount of tea in a pouch accordingly.
Bergamasco Sheepdog Long-Leaf Green
Ingredients: Green tea
Caffeine: Yes
Recommended Brewing: Steep one teaspoon per one cup serving for one minute at 175 F (80 C)
