Experience the True Freshness of Raw Pu-erh with Tang Jia 2025 Loose Leaf Release | HOJO Online Speciality Tea Shop

We have released Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Tea 唐家古樹生茶 2025 Loose Leaf.

Among HOJO’s raw pu-erh teas, Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Tea is one of our staple products. We produced this tea with great care and effort. This year, to let you fully appreciate the unique character of fresh tea, we intentionally released it in loose leaf form.

What we emphasized most in producing this tea was balance. It was designed to offer a creamy, smooth texture with gentle floral and fruity flavour, and a well-rounded taste that is easy to enjoy.

Ancient Tree Tea Garden in the Remote Mountains of Yongde Lincang 永徳,臨滄 in Yunnan

Tang Jia is produced from a tea garden located at about 2000–2100 m in Yongde, Lincang, Yunnan. The tea garden, owned by the Tang family, are home to ancient tea trees that are several hundred years old, all grown naturally without any pesticides or fertilizers.
In Lincang, it is extremely rare to find large-scale tea gardens where ancient trees of this age are still cultivated naturally. Normally, when tea gardens with old trees gain fame, prices rise, and farmers begin using fertilizers to increase yields for higher income. This is a very common trend observed across China.
However, Tang Jia, despite its high altitude and the maintenance of unfertilized, ancient trees, has preserved traditional cultivation practices. This is possible thanks to the region’s remoteness and mountainous terrain, the garden’s distance from major roads, and the overwhelmingly high number of ancient tree tea gardens.

View from the tea garden at dusk

The Value of Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh Beyond Single Tree Tea

Raw Pu-erh Tea loose leaf from Tang Jia has a remarkably long aftertaste, with a smooth mouthfeel and mineral-derived sweetness. The tea trees in this garden are all significantly old, and if harvested individually, they could be sold as single tree teas.
However, since the number of ancient trees is overwhelmingly large, the Tang family simply does not have the time to harvest and process each one separately. As a result, the leaves are plucked and combined as a mixed harvest. Still, because the raw material comes from trees that in other regions would be classified as single tree, this tea carries an aftertaste and strength on par with single tree teas.
During my stays in Yunnan, I have often been offered various single tree teas by friends producing tea in other regions, but I feel Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh tea surpasses them in terms of aftertaste.

Even though it is at a single tree level, appreciating its true value depends on whether one can accurately sense the length of the aftertaste. It is not about years of experience or knowledge of Chinese tea, but about sensitivity of palate. For those who can sense aftertaste, this tea offers outstanding value far beyond its price.

The Pleasure of Drinking Raw Pu-erh in Loose Leaf Form

When people think of Pu-erh, the first thing that often comes to mind is aging. But freshly made loose raw Pu-erh has a soft floral fragrance and a silky, gentle mouthfeel that often surprises those who try it. Its production steps are similar to green tea. Both type of tea undergoes withering, pan-frying, rolling, and drying. The difference lies in the details: raw Pu-erh is withered for a longer time, pan-fried at lower temperatures, and sun-dried instead of machine-dried. These steps give raw Pu-erh a distinct character, setting it apart from green tea.
In fact, many professionals engaged in tea production in Yunnan, myself included, enjoy drinking loose raw pu-erh in its fresh form the most. Fresh raw pu-erh is soothing and enjoyable, a tea one wishes to drink at any time, whether in the morning or evening.

Compressed Pu-erh cakes, on the other hand, undergo an extra process. Loose tea is softened with steam, then pressed and left to dry for about a week. Through this, the fresh floral aroma of the loose tea mellows down. Tea cakes are originally intended for aging, and they only begin to show their character after two to three years.

However, in reality, it is nearly impossible to enjoy the unique flavour and character of freshly made loose leaf pu-erh outside of Yunnan, as its quality tends to deteriorate during transport due to oxidation and fluctuations in temperature.

The Unique Character of freshly made pu-erh is Lost During Transportation

When shipped by sea, the inside of containers becomes extremely hot, and the tea is affected by heat. I once placed a digital temperature recorder inside a shipping container to monitor temperature changes during transport. The result showed that the temperature could reach as high as 55℃. It may not sound very high, but daily exposure to this temperature gradually transforms raw pu-erh into something resembling green tea produced by high-temperature pan frying, and it loses the gentle and creamy character unique to freshly made raw pu-erh.

Air transport also has its own issues. During the shipping by air, the temperature in the cargo room drops below 0℃, and condensation forms on the surface of the tea upon arrival. This accelerates oxidation within days, increasing astringency and damaging both flavour and smooth texture.

As both sea and air transport have these problems, it is extremely difficult to obtain raw pu-erh tea overseas that retains the freshness of just-made tea. The only exception is when small amounts are brought back personally as hand-carry luggage.
To solve this challenge, we conducted repeated experiments on packaging methods and transport means. By setting up the right equipment and introducing the necessary packaging materials on-site at the source, we’ve established a way to deliver raw pu-erh tea without losing its freshness.
We invite you to experience the brilliance of freshly made raw pu-erh, an experience of tea that stays true to its origin.

How to Buy This Tea?

For international customers, please refer to the following page for pricing:
https://hojotea.com/img/tealineup10.pdf

Please send your inquiry to us via email at info2@hojotea.com.

For customers in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, please click here to visit the product page.

Tang Jia Raw Pu-erh 2025 / 唐家古树生茶