New Release of High Mountain White Tea

We are pleased to introduce our High Mountain White Tea, sourced from a unique tea garden with two key features: 1. Located at an altitude of 2200-2300m 2. Completely wild and untended The ideal natural conditions of this garden result in tea of exceptional quality, offering a pure and gentle, nourishing taste.

High Altitude and Wild Tea Garden

Altitude plays a crucial role in determining the quality of tea. In general, the higher the altitude, the better the tea, assuming other conditions remain the same. With greater elevation, the aftertaste becomes more distinct, the fragrance intensifies, the clarity improves, and the taste becomes finer. This is true not only for tea but for other crops as well. The tea used for our High Mountain White Tea grows naturally on a mountain at an altitude of around 2300m, more than an hour's walk from the nearest village. Originally a tea garden, it was abandoned over 30 years ago when the owner left, allowing it to return to its wild state. The tea trees now grow among various other plants. Due to the distance from the village, no other farmers took over the land, leaving it untouched by human hands. Although the tea trees are not large because of the high altitude and wild conditions, each one is over 100 years old.

Harvesting in a Remote, Untended Tea Garden That Even Experienced Tea Pluckers Avoid

Since its release in 2020, we had not launched the High Mountain White Tea for several years. The reason was that the tea garden is located far from the village and overgrown with brambles, leading most tea pluckers to refuse the work. Despite its excellent quality, no one was willing to harvest there. However, this year, while staying in Yunnan, we were able to negotiate persistently and offer higher-than-usual wages, successfully forming a tea-plucking team. Women on their way home after tea plucking  

Muscatel Flavor Formed by Leafhoppers

In the wild tea garden, numerous surrounding plants create a rich habitat for various insects, including leafhoppers that favor tea leaves. When these leafhoppers feed on the tea leaves, the leaves turn yellow, much like a banana peel, and release a subtle muscat-like aroma, referred to as Mi Xiang (Muscatel Flavor). However, in its fresh state, the muscatel flavor is quite mild, offering a refreshing, sweet grape-like fragrance instead. From experience, brewing the tea with cold water enhances its deliciousness, and it gives off an aroma similar to that of perilla leaves.

Aged Aroma Formed Over Several Years

As High Mountain White Tea ages, the Mi Xiang becomes more distinct, gradually evolving into a fragrance similar to that of Oriental Beauty. White tea ages more rapidly than raw pu-erh, with the aged aroma emerging within just a few years. To facilitate this transformation, it is essential to store the tea in an oxygen-free environment. We package the tea in oxygen-free packaging, allowing it to mature and develop a deep sweetness over time.

For more on how white tea is made, its types, and how to brew and age it, see What Is White Tea?.