New Release of Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Tea 2020 and 2021

We made Tang Jia raw pu-erh tea using tea leaves collected from the old tea trees of a small village in the southwest of Lincang, Yunnan. The tea garden is located high in the mountains, at 2000-2100m. Both the 2020 and 2021 batches were made from the first flush of spring tea.

Tang family

Tang Jia means the Tang family. This family owns one of the largest tea gardens in their village in western Lincang. Their tea gardens consist of many ancient tea trees aged over a few hundred years. We were very lucky to get to know them several years ago, as they are close relatives of our primary tea manufacturer. Since 2019, we have rented their old tea tree garden through our manufacturer and produced pu-erh tea to our specific requirements.

Tang Jia garden maintained just like a wild tea garden

The Tang Jia tea garden had been left unattended for more than 30 years. Long ago, the Tang family made a living from tea. However, ever since the present Mr. Tang took over the family, he has shifted his work to goat and cattle grazing. The tea garden was left alone for a long time, and it became a wild tea garden, just like a jungle out of Tarzan. The tea garden is now totally self-sustaining. The tea trees are in very healthy condition, just like wild plants. To this day, they use no fertilizer, no pesticide and no herbicide. Therefore, their tea grows very slowly, and it gives a rich and concentrated taste with a long-lasting flavor. It has a thick taste without bitterness or astringency, and you can enjoy a well-rounded fullness in both its taste and flavor.

We optimized the production process in 2019

In 2019, we were in Yunnan. We stayed with our tea manufacturer to attend the production of Tang Jia raw pu-erh tea. We looked into every detail, such as the frying temperature, the loading quantity and the flipping speed. As a result, we managed to implement pan-frying at the optimum temperature. Thanks to the full attention paid to each detail of processing, most of the natural substances in the tea were well preserved, which made the taste of the tea very creamy and rich.

The characteristics of the 2020 and 2021 teas

For 2020 and 2021, we had to depend on the manufacturer to manage the process, since we could not travel to China due to the Covid pandemic lockdown. Generally, the frying temperature was a little higher than in 2019. As a result, the taste of the tea is not as creamy as in 2019, but it is cleaner and more transparent.

Between 2020 and 2021, the 2020 batch consists of younger leaves, as it was plucked in the middle of April, while the 2021 batch was plucked in the middle of May. You may wonder why the 2021 plucking was so late. Interestingly, even the May-plucked tea is still first flush tea.

In April, the weather is colder, so the tea leaves grow more slowly and are generally smaller. The smaller leaves contain a higher proportion of buds, which makes the taste creamy with a soft mouthfeel.

In May, the only remaining tea is from the very old tea trees (more than a few hundred years old). Thanks to the age of the trees, the tea has a great finish and a very clean taste. Besides, due to the warmer weather in May, the leaves tend to be bigger, which makes the taste less creamy than the April tea, but you will detect a longer-lasting finish down the throat.

Both the April-plucked (2020) and May-plucked (2021) teas have their own characteristics. You may enjoy both Tang Jia raw pu-erh teas, as each gives a different drinking sensation, and it is fun to experience teas harvested at different times.

Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Tea 2020

Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Tea 2021

For more about raw pu-erh tea, please see What Is Raw Pu-erh Tea?. Our raw pu-erh teas are available in our raw pu-erh tea collection.