There’s not much to say about this tea that we haven’t said before, except that it is now a certified organic tea. Having tested this tea back in 2017, we already knew this, but now certifying bodies have caught up. One of the longest standing teas in our lineup, this year’s tea comes from the same ~50 year old fangyang (left to grow) garden in Mengsong, with no pesticides/weed killers applied, no pruning, and minimal human intervention all around. This is hands down our preferred type of material as it often lends a richer flavour and texture, but at a more affordable level than gushu, old or sometimes dubiously labelled “wild” trees. While notes of stone fruit might be more elusive in the early years, you can expect them to become more obvious after some time in storage (5+ years). In the meantime, this tea carries an impressive floral fragrance in the front, which is balanced out by a pleasant bitterness and some roughness – an expected trait of the region. We can confidently recommend this tea for long term ageing, as it performs well at every stage we’ve tried it over the last decade. $0.20/gram Region: Mengsong, Xishuangbanna Prefecture Picking Period: March 24-29, 2025
