In Yunnan, Pu-erh tea is produced in 3 major areas: Xishuang Banna (西双版纳), Pu-erh (普洱) and Ling Cang (临沧).  Historically, the most famous place for Pu-erh tea is Xishuang Banna. There are a number of famous tea production areas in Xishuang Banna, such as Lao Ban Zhang (老班章), Bu Lang Shan (布朗山)and Yi Wu (易武). Due to its fame, teas from Xishuang Banna are highly priced in commercial tea market.

Conversely, we wish to introduce high quality tea at more affordable price. To achieve this objective, every year we spend more time and effort in Yunnan especially in the South West to West Yunnan. We paid more attention to search for quality tea from less famous manufacturing area. The Lao Hei Zhai is from the village located in Ling Cang City. 

The trends that trivial village produces good quality tea

The more we stay in Yunnan to learn about tea, the more we understand that good tea exists in both Pu-erh and Ling Cang. In these places, many villages are located at remote area. Due to very limited access, many villages are not exposed to the commercial market. Because of the villages were less famous in the history, there were limited demand in the market and the farmers cannot sell their tea at higher price. Under the circumstances, farmer won’t pluck tea very often but only once a year in early spring. Besides, no pesticide or fertilizer is applied to the tea tree. Tea tree in these villages are kept just like the wild tree. As a result, tea leaves grow very slow and more mineral is accumulated. Because of rich in minerals, tea gives very deep aftertaste. You can tell the difference even if you drink the tea when you are pinching your nose. 

On the other hand, tea from famous production area has a higher demand in the market. To earn more income, farmer tends to increase the production quantity. Thus they have to apply fertilizer, trim branches to promote the growth of young branches for more production of tea leaves. This can enable them to pluck a few times throughout a year. Since tea tree has to generate more number of tea leaves, yet the supply of minerals from the root is limited, the taste of tea becomes lighter and less lasting in flavour. 

Very old tea tree at 500 year's old

Many people might think that old tea tree only available in famous tea production area. In point of fact, old tea trees were also found in less famous places like Pu-erh and Ling Cang city. The tea plucked from the old tea tree has 2 advantages as follow:

1. Tea is very rich in minerals. Old tea tree has very long roots that grow deep under the ground and larger surface area. Thus it can supply tea leaves with more minerals. 

2. Tea trees prefer red soil that is rich in iron content. Many tea production areas have red soil. However, the red soil usually found at the lower layer underground and it is unreachable by young tea tree since the root is still very short. The old tea tree could effectively absorb the iron that exists in red soil and therefore it gives very rich aftertaste and long lasting flavour. 

The thick body and long lasting sweetness thanks to the high mountain climate

Lao Hei Zhai raw Pu-erh is produced from the mountain situated in Ling Cang city. Ling Cang city is located almost the farthest north of Pu-erh production area. Due to the high latitude, the weather in Ling Cang, especially the temperature at night is cooler than other areas. Most importantly, Lao Hei Zhai tea is grown at altitude around 2200-2300m. Tea from high mountain is generally good in quality. The altitude of 2200m-2300 is similar to the altitude of Li Shan or Cui Feng Mountain in Taiwan. At higher altitude, tea received strong sunshine in a daytime. Tea produces more energy thanks to the efficient photosynthesis. On the other hand, the temperature at night is extremely low at high altitude. Due to low temperature, tea is unable to consume the energy for growing. As a result, all nutrients including minerals are accumulated in the tea leaves. This is the reason why the tea grown at high altitude is generally good quality. 

The very appealing thick body and long lasting sweetness of Lao Hei Zhai is the gift from the high mountain.

How does Lao Hei Zhai Raw Puerh taste like?

This tea does not give either flowery or identical fruity flavour, but it gives gentle greenish flavour that reminds us of freshly produced straw. Because of very deep and long lasting aftertaste, you can feel its quality even if you drink this tea pinching your nose. This tea matured very well thanks to its rich mineral content. After keeping this tea for a few years, its flavour becomes more fruity and honey-like. 

The character of Lao Hei Zhai and Bing Dao is quite similar. If you need to select one, I suggest Lao Hei Zhai for a start. Please try Bing Dao after trying Lao Hei Zhai since Bing Dao gives deeper after taste than Lao Hei Zhai.

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.