Bamboo tips got their name from their appearance. In 1964, Buddhist Monk Jue-Kong created a distinctive blend by using leaves that were flat and gleaming. Soon this form of tea had become cultivated in the E-Mei temples throughout Asia. These leaves are grown in Sichuan Province near Mending Mt, this tea is as close to perfection as tea can be. This is a bud-only (sometimes called a sparrow's tongue) green tea that is meticulously picked in early spring and sorted by hand one bud at a time. Mending Mt is revered in China as being the birthplace of cultivated tea and tea culture in China. Bamboo Tips are named for the lush, dense bamboo forests in the area, and the habit of the bamboo plant to emerge in spring by sending up just the tiniest pale green shoots.