Raw Pu-erh tea is a delicate tea that is fruity and fresh, like freshly made white wine. It has no bitterness or astringency, making it very popular with children.
When you think of Pu-erh tea, you might imagine a tea with a brown liquor and the flavor of dried mushrooms or dried fruits, but that is a type of Pu-erh called ripe Pu-erh.
Difference Between Raw and Ripe Pu-erh Tea >
The first tea I have to search in Yunnan is Wild Spring Bud raw pu-erh tea. It is the tea made of wild tea spieces called camellia taliensis. It gives distinctive flavour that reminds me of green apples, grapes or the fresh young tree barks.
The earliest plucked tea is very precious
For us, it is very important to purchase the earliest-plucked tea. The flavour of tea may not be much different between the 1st and the 2nd plucked tea. However, the taste is distinctively different. The earliest plucked tea gives a creamy texture, smooth and silky mouth-feel and tea is very gentle and soft. The quality wild spring bud consists of various sizes and the bud is relatively bigger. It is because that the growing speed of the young buds on each wild tree or branch is not the same. Usually, the size becomes consistent when the same tea is plucked for the second time in the season.
The first flush of the Wild Spring Bud is usually collected in the middle of March, while by the end of March the 2nd plucked wild spring bud is available. I have been in Yunnan since 20th of March just because I wanted to make sure I am able to secure the earliest plucked tea.
We secured the wild spring bud with right quality
Today we managed to purchase the ideal tea according to my desire. The tea is well-processed and it gives sweet distinctive flavour of wild tea. I am very satisfied with the result.
Sorting process
Focus on Sourcing Naturally Cultivated Tea
Since 2010, we have been visiting Yunnan Province every spring. Over the years, we have built connections with many famous tea regions. However, our focus is not on a region's fame, but rather on tea with transparency and a long-lasting aftertaste. To achieve this, we focus on remote mountain villages, selecting tea gardens with ancient tea trees, high altitudes, and no fertilizers, sourcing through unique logistics channels. For more details, please visit the following page.
In Yunnan, teas claiming to be from famous regions are produced in thousands of locations using leaves from other areas, and can be found everywhere—from airports and convenience stores to supermarkets.
What complicates matters is the surprising phenomenon where imitation teas made from leaves in remote areas are of higher quality than the genuine articles. This is especially common with Pu-erh teas from Lincang, and it is a well-known fact among professionals involved in local sourcing. For more details, please visit the following page.
In Yunnan Province, there are long-established brands like Dayi and Zhongcha. These brands are renowned because their teas produced before 1990 are highly valued.
So why are these older teas considered special? Many people assume it is due to long aging, but in reality, the tea leaves used at that time were naturally grown without fertilizers, resulting in their superior quality.
Therefore, even if current teas are aged for a long time, they will not reach the same quality. For more information, please visit the following page.
