What is Wild Tea?

Wild tea refers to tea that grows naturally in the mountains without any human intervention. In Yunnan Province, China, considered the birthplace of tea, there are large wild tea trees growing at altitudes around 2000 meters.

In the mountain villages of Yunnan, ethnic minorities have traditionally harvested wild tea in the spring, pan-frying it at home for personal use or as herbal medicine. Until about 20 years ago, wild tea was a rare and little-known tea.

Wild tea has gradually gained recognition since around 2005, and with its growing popularity, demand has surged, making it increasingly difficult to obtain.

Wild tea is processed into Pu-erh tea and even black tea. However, applying it to white tea is rare, and we are one of the first to offer it.

Wild Tea is Different from Old Tree Tea

Recently, you may frequently see the term "wild tea." Even in Chinese airports, many brands claim to be wild tea. Naturally, truly rare wild tea cannot be so abundant.

Many of these are not wild tea but tea from old trees, or tea called wild tea even though it is from cultivated tea plantations or hybrid varieties derived from wild species.

Yunnan Province has many old trees over a hundred years old. However, these are not wild. Some people call tea from neglected gardens "wild tea," but it is important to distinguish true wild tea.

Tea made from wild tea leaves has a clear taste and deep richness that penetrates the body.

Camellia Sinensis and Camellia Taliensis

We offer wild teas such as Da Xue Shan Wild Tea, Wild Spring Bud, Wild Black Tea and Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea. These teas are made from Camellia Taliensis leaves that grow naturally in the Lincang area.

Recently, Camellia Taliensis has also been cultivated on plantations. Since it is called wild tea among locals, even those grown on farms are often marketed as wild tea. The wild teas we sell are made from trees growing naturally in the mountains.

Camellia Taliensis Leaves

Da Xue Shan Wild Tea

Wild Spring Bud

Mianjiang Wild Tea

Delicious Like Mountain Vegetables

In spring, people enjoy eating mountain vegetables like Taranome and Koshiabura. The flavor of wild mountain vegetables is quite different from that of cultivated ones, like Mitsuba, Wasabi, and Seri.

Wild tea has a refreshing aroma, lingering sweetness, and clear taste, much like freshly harvested mountain vegetables. Drinking it warms the body and instantly relaxes you.

Aroma Like Wild Grapes

While wild tea might be perceived as bitter or harsh, our Da Xue Shan Wild Raw Tea is naturally sweet and smooth. It has a fruity aroma like grapes, a fresh scent of young tree bark, a fragrance reminiscent of Koshiabura or Taranome, and a floral sweetness, making it surprisingly easy to drink.

A Tea That Even Children Love

My children love this tea. High-quality tea contains a lot of iron, making its properties similar to human body fluids and breast milk.

Despite its sophisticated aroma, children find wild tea delicious and rich. They often ask for refills, and their faces turn red, and their bodies warm up after drinking.

This tea is rich in iron, which modern people often lack, making it naturally appealing.

Wild Tea Is Traditionally Very Expensive

Typically, wild tea is very expensive. In the production areas I visited, wild tea costs about five times more than regular tea.

Fortunately, we can offer Da Xue Shan Wild Tea at a reasonable price due to our direct relationship with producers who specialize in wild tea.

What Makes Wild Tea Different?

Wild tea grows in fierce competition with other plants in the mountains.

In the dim forest, tea leaves strive to reach the sunlight, resulting in a concentration of leaves at the tips. This leads to leaves rich in minerals despite the large tree size.

Without pruning or fertilizers, wild tea trees grow slowly. Each cell becomes small and dense, resulting in a rich flavor similar to freshly harvested mountain vegetables. High in iron, it is beneficial for those needing this mineral.

Wild tea is often brown like autumn leaves, even when new. This color is attributed to the unique minerals in Camellia Taliensis.

The photo above shows a tea tree that is several hundred years old. High-quality Raw Pu-erh is typically made from such old trees. However, these are not wild but cultivated teas, even though their leaves are of high quality.

This is a wild tea tree growing several hours' walk from the nearest village. Wild tea grows at around 2000 meters altitude, with trees ranging from young to over 1000 years old. The buds grow towards the sunlight.

The resulting buds are strong, thick, and resilient, much like the sprouts of Taranome or Koshiabura, though fewer in number.

Diverse Varieties of Wild Tea

Most tea trees in Japan are grown from cuttings, meaning the tea garden contains identical clones.

Wild tea grows from seeds in the mountains, resulting in diverse traits through complex hybridization.

Even within the same mountain area, the size, shape, and color of leaves, as well as taste and aroma, vary significantly between tea trees. When I sampled leaves from various trees, I found both refreshing and extremely bitter teas.

During harvesting, leaves from multiple trees are mixed, creating a unique final product depending on the combination.

While wild tea generally has a strong throat-feel and intense aroma, the combination of different trees can result in weak or less aromatic teas.

Selecting wild tea is challenging due to the limited quantity of each batch and the diverse quality, ranging from very bitter to poorly aromatic.

Therefore, our wild teas, including Da Xue Shan Wild Tea, are limited edition and sold on a batch-by-batch basis.

Wild Tea Exploration Video (YouTube)

This video documents my exploration of wild tea. Watching it will give you a better understanding of wild tea.