Tang Li Shan(棠梨山) is the name of a mountain located on the northern slope of Dedang Town(德党镇), the administrative center of Yongde County(永德县). This ripe pu-erh tea is made from high-quality raw material with carefully controlled fermentation, producing an exceptionally long aftertaste. It stands out in both raw material selection and processing.
When people think of pu-erh tea, many imagine a dark brown liquor with notes reminiscent of dried mushrooms or dried fruit. This image generally refers to ripe pu-erh tea.
Raw pu-erh tea, by contrast, is produced without microbial fermentation during processing. It is delicate and fresh in character, often compared to a young white wine. Because it has no bitterness or astringency, it is enjoyed even by children.
Differences Between Raw and Ripe Pu-erh Tea >
High-quality ripe pu-erh tea has a naturally sweet fragrance.
Some people dislike ripe pu-erh tea because they say it smells like old furniture, rotten wood, or mold. Flavors that evoke mold are referred to as Zhang Xiang in Chinese and are primarily caused by the use of smoky raw material. In recent years, particularly in Southeast Asia, ripe pu-erh tea with Zhang Xiang has become expensive, and intentionally smoked raw pu-erh tea has sometimes been used as material for ripe pu-erh tea.
A good-quality tea delivers a distinct impact when you drink it. We conduct extensive tastings to ensure we offer only teas of reliable quality.
Product Details
Tang Li Shan, the Symbolic Mountain of Dedang Town
Tang Li Shan is located to the north of Dedang Town, the central urban area of Yongde County. Gentle slopes extend up to an elevation of approximately 2000m. This mountain is symbolic to Yongde Town itself. Because access to this area is relatively easy, both fertilized tea gardens and naturally cultivated tea gardens coexist. As one moves further north along Tang Li Shan, the distance from the town increases, elevations rise, and the tea trees tend to be older, resulting in a higher concentration of tea gardens with favorable growing conditions.
Slopes of Tang Li Shan spreading across northern Dedang Town
Tang Li Shan also benefits from ample sunlight, and teas produced here tend to be clean and relatively refined in character. Because of its popularity, tea from this mountain is highly priced even locally, and it is rarely processed into ripe pu-erh tea. In recent years, however, the downturn in the Chinese economy has affected the ripe pu-erh market, lowering overall market prices. As a result, it became possible for the producer to source this fine tea material at a more reasonable cost than usual.
The Longest Aftertaste Among Our Ripe Pu-erh Selections
Tang Li Shan Gushu Ripe Pu-erh Tea 2023(棠梨山古树熟茶2023) is characterized by its long aftertaste and surpasses even the previously popular Guogan Gushu Ripe Pu-erh Tea 2016(果敢古树熟茶2016), which is now sold out. From a professional perspective, the fermentation has been carried out appropriately, with no sourness emerging even as the tea cools, allowing a clean and pleasant sweetness to remain. The tea was first stored in loose form under aerobic conditions and aged for one year before being compressed into its final shape. With further aging under oxygen-free conditions over the coming years, the fragrance is expected to become more pronounced and the sweetness more layered.
Specialized Sourcing Focused on Naturally Cultivated Tea
We have visited Yunnan Province every spring since 2010. Through long-term stays and repeated visits, we have built strong relationships with many well-known tea producing areas. However, our priority is not regional fame, but teas that show clarity and a long aftertaste. For this reason, we focus on remote mountain villages, selecting unfertilized tea gardens at higher elevations with older tea trees, and source them through our own independent logistics channels. For more details, please refer to the page below.
In Yunnan Province, countless producers create teas labeled with famous origin names while using raw material sourced from elsewhere. These products are found everywhere, from airports to convenience stores and supermarkets.
What complicates the situation further is the paradox that some imitation products made with tea from remote areas are actually of higher quality than the originals. This phenomenon is particularly common with pu-erh tea from the Lincang region(临沧) and is widely known among professionals involved in local sourcing. For further explanation, please see the page below.
Pu-erh tea includes several long-established famous brands. One reason these brands are highly regarded is that teas produced before 1980 receive especially high evaluations.
Many assume that long-term aging alone is the reason these old teas are special. In reality, the key factor is that the raw leaves used at the time were naturally grown, unfertilized, and of very high quality.
As a result, aging modern tea for a long period does not necessarily lead to the same quality. For further details, please refer to the page below.
