When people first hear what makes Oriental Beauty tea special – that it's been bitten by bugs – they often imagine something scary.

Actually, the bugs are called Green Leafhoppers. These creatures appear completely safe and they might even seem somewhat adorable.

Green Leafhoppers are tiny green insects. They are very small, only about 1 millimeter long. On a tea leaf, you might just see little, almost see-through dots hopping around.

Although the bitten tea leaves stop growing, the plant doesn't just give up. It goes into defense mode. It releases fragrant substances, like jasmine acid, which acts like a signal. This signal attracts helpful insects, like small wasps, to come and eat the Green Leafhoppers.

The Green Leafhoppers' saliva mixes with substances released by the damaged leaf. When this leaf is processed into tea, it creates a unique honey-like sweetness. The more bites the leaf has, the richer the flavor of the final tea becomes.

Even so, the Green Leafhopper is still a pest. Tea bushes that are badly bitten become unhealthy.

Because the Green Leafhoppers must thrive to make this tea, absolutely no pesticides can be used. After the leafhoppers damage the bushes, the tea yield plummets. It often drops to only half of the normal amount. In severe cases, it can be as low as one-tenth!

The peak time for Green Leafhoppers is the ten days before and after the Dragon Boat Festival (around early summer). Since making Oriental Beauty tea relies on these pests, the tea is only harvested during the summer. This harvest season is very short. Because of this low yield, the tea is rare and a precious treasure.