Yong De Wild White Tea 2026 – Limited Release

We have released Yong De Wild White Tea 2026. We can produce only a very limited quantity each year, and it usually sells out within one or two days. If you are interested, please place your order as soon as possible.

Origin and Background

Yong De Wild Tea comes from wild Camellia taliensis trees growing naturally in the mountains at an elevation of approximately 2,300 metres in Yong De County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. The producer’s elder brother makes his living by moving from mountain to mountain with a herd of goats. Our encounter with this tea began when he mentioned the wild tea trees growing in the area. Wild tea generally grows in shaded mountain forests, where little undergrowth develops and the trees are relatively easy to reach. In contrast, Yong De Wild Tea grows in sunny shrubland. The abundant sunlight gives the tea a flavour as clear as an autumn sky. However, thorny bushes and various wild plants grow densely throughout the area, so reaching the tea trees requires considerable effort. For this reason, we can harvest only a very limited quantity each year.

Loss and Rediscovery of the Wild Tea Trees

Around 2022, during the COVID-19 lockdown, some local villagers who had heard about the wild tea went into the mountains and cut down the trees, stripping them of their leaves to earn money. As a result, the villagers destroyed many wild tea trees. Nevertheless, the producer and his elder brother continued to search the area year after year and discovered more trees. Since then, they have continued harvesting the tea in small quantities.

Characteristics of Camellia taliensis and the Challenges of White Tea Processing

When we process it properly, Yong De Wild White Tea develops a sweet flavour similar to that of Shine Muscat grapes. However, Camellia taliensis has thick stems that hold moisture, so managing moisture during withering, the key stage in white tea production, is particularly challenging. If withering takes too long, enzymatic reactions inside the stems progress too far and create an unpleasant, stewed note. We therefore carefully manage the plucking standards and select young, relatively small leaves. During withering, we also adjust the thickness of the leaf layer, the withering time and the airflow according to changes in the weather to keep the process within the appropriate range. When processing goes wrong, the leaves turn brown and lose their vivid green colour. Colour therefore provides an important indication of how well we have processed the tea. Every year, we stay in the production area from before production begins and manage the process daily. This allows us to preserve the tea’s vivid green colour and bring out its clear flavour without undesirable notes.

This Year’s Yong De Wild White Tea

Tea flavour varies from year to year, both in character and intensity. This year was a very good year for flavour, and we observed the same trend across teas from Yunnan Province. Not only Yong De Wild White Tea, but also our other white teas and Da Xue Shan Wild Tea have stronger flavour this year. Yong De Wild White Tea is floral and fruity, with a distinct Shine Muscat grape flavour. This flavour becomes especially prominent when you cold-brew the tea. If you keep the package unopened for about a year, the flavour will become even stronger.