Discover the Unique Taste of Wu Jia Ping Zhang Ancient Tree Raw Pu-Erh Tea | HOJO Online Speciality Tea Shop

We have released Wu Jia Ping Zhang ancient tree raw pu-erh tea for 2020 and 2021. This tea is grown in tea gardens located around 2100 meters above sea level in the southwestern part of Lincang City, Yunnan Province of China, just a few dozen kilometres from the Myanmar border.

Single-origin tea

Wu Jia Ping Zhang ancient tree raw pu-erh tea is from the Wu Jia Ping area located in Wu Jia Zhai Village, Yong De County, Lincang City. In Chinese, “zhai” means a smaller unit than a village, usually referring to a settlement with a few hundred people. Wu Jia Zhai Village is named after the Wu family, who lived there, and the name Wu Jia Zhai means the “settlement of the Wu family”. HOJO also offers a pu-erh tea called Wu Jia Zhai ancient tree raw pu-erh tea, which uses tea leaves from several tea gardens in Wu Jia Zhai Village. In contrast, Wu Jia Ping Zhang ancient tree raw pu-erh tea is a single-origin tea from a specific tea garden.
Wu Jia Ping Zhang raw pu-erh tea has a long-lasting flavor because it is made from old tea trees that have been growing naturally for hundreds of years. The tea trees were not treated with any chemicals like pesticides or fertilizers, not even organic ones were used. Tea grows slowly, which allows it to develop a high concentration of natural tea substances.

Two Different Personalities of Tea

We just launched two new teas: one is made from tea leaves harvested in 2020 and the other from tea leaves harvested in 2021. The 2020 tea comes in a 357g cake, while the 2021 tea comes in a 200g cake. The 2020 tea has been stored without oxygen for two years before we made it available for sale. Tea has well-matured and developed an intense sweet note.

The photo shows the 2021 Wu Jia Ping Zhang ancient tree raw pu-erh tea in a 200g cake.

To give each year’s tea a distinct taste, we used different raw materials for the 2020 and 2021 teas, even though they are from the same location and same type of tea.
For the 2020 tea, we used tea leaves harvested in mid-April because they have a good balance of flavor and aroma. These leaves have a high bud-to-leaf ratio, which gives the tea a smooth taste and creamy mouth-feel.

In contrast, the tea produced in 2021 is made from tea leaves harvested in mid-May, which is also the first harvest of the year. These leaves were obtained from the same tea garden as the 2020 tea. Tea gardens in Yunnan province usually have trees of varying ages growing together, as new tea trees are often planted when a new generation takes over. The Wu Jia Ping Zhang tea garden is also made up of tea trees of different ages, ranging from around 100 years old to several hundred years old.
Younger tea trees grow faster, while older ones grow more slowly. As a result, the older and more mature tea trees start budding later in April, and the first harvest of the year is only available for harvesting in May. Therefore, the May-batch of tea consists of leaves from the older tea trees.
You may assume that the quality of tea improves with the age of the tea tree. However, the harvest season for high-aged tea occurs in May, when the temperature has risen and the season has progressed compared to April. This causes the tea leaves to open more, resulting in a lower ratio of buds in terms of weight. Consequently, the creamy and smooth mouthfeel that is typical of tea harvested in April is lost, and instead, the tea has a clearer and more refreshing taste with deeper aftertaste and more long-lasting finishing.
To be frank, I appreciate both characteristics. The 2020 harvest strikes a good balance and is more popular with everyone, while the 2021 harvest has a sharper quality that is preferred by connoisseurs.