Myanmar White Tea Bud 2013 from Guo Gan, Myanmar

We have released a raw Pu-erh tea, 緬甸白芽茶 2013 (Myanmar White Tea Bud 2013), produced by ethnic minorities in the mountainous villages of Guo Gan, Myanmar, which has now become a conflict zone. 緬甸 means Myanmar in Chinese.

Pu-erh Ripe Tea from Myanmar, Bordering Yunnan

The Guo Gan region in Myanmar has long been an area of conflict over the border with China. Many Chinese-origin ethnic minorities live there, and although they are Myanmar nationals, many of them speak Chinese. Economically, Guo Gan is closely tied to Yunnan. Pu-erh tea produced in Guo Gan is rarely consumed domestically. Most of it is transported just a few dozen kilometers overland into Yunnan. Street scene in Guo Gan: Chinese writing was everywhere.

Minority Villages in Myanmar under Military Tension

Around 2015, intense conflict broke out between the Myanmar army and local guerrilla forces in Guo Gan. The fighting became so severe that mortars, rockets, and fighter planes were used. Since 2016, a temporary ceasefire has been in place. However, during the COVID-19 years of 2020–21, and even earlier, the Myanmar–China border at Guo Gan was closed, and Chinese citizens were restricted from entering. The border at Nansan, Lincang city, Yunnan.

Visiting Guo Gan in 2013

Despite rising military tensions, we visited the tea-producing villages of Guo Gan in 2013, just before the civil war broke out. In Nansan town on the Yunnan side, there were Myanmar locals who earned a living by guiding Chinese visitors into Guo Gan. It seems that people originally from Guo Gan could freely cross between the two border towns. We hired one such guide to enter Myanmar. At that time, soldiers carrying machine guns patrolled Guo Gan in trucks. Whenever they approached, our guide urged us to hide, warning that these soldiers often acted like bandits—taking money and cameras if unlucky. Looking back, this was the most dangerous trip of my tea career. Such streets were regularly patrolled by armed soldiers.

Pu-erh Tea Produced by Local Minority Farmers

The tea production area was about 2 hours by car from the town of Guo Gan. The village was extremely poor, and tea was its only industry. A mountain village inside Myanmar, a few hours from the Yunnan border. We visited in 2013, before the civil war. They had no dedicated pan-firing facilities for tea, so they used cooking pans. These pans were about 50 cm in diameter but thin, making temperature control difficult. As a result, they could not precisely manage the temperature, and some parts of the leaves were often overheated. When first purchased, the tea had a strong smoky character, like Kyoto Bancha, so we decided to let it age long-term. After many years, when we opened it again and tasted it, the long maturation had created a sweet flavour, smoothing out the edges and making it very pleasant to drink. The ageing developed sweet notes reminiscent of chestnut, brown sugar, and sweet potato, combined with smokiness, giving a character similar to Scotch whisky. Because of its unique flavour, it pairs well with meals or sweets and works nicely as an after-dinner tea.  

Natural Cultivation Brings a Lasting Finish

The reason Guo Gan Pu-erh is popular among tea drinkers in Yunnan is its fullness. Guo Gan tea feels soft when entering the mouth and expands gently. This comes from the soil of Guo Gan, rich in alkaline minerals, which contributes to its strong character. It is likely that Guo Gan was once seabed that rose to form land.

For more on how raw Pu-erh is made, aged, and stored, see What Is Raw Pu-erh Tea?.