Wu Liang Shan Raw Pu-erh Tea is made from old tea trees grown in Wu Liang Mountain, one of the famous mountain ranges in Yunnan.
The 2016 harvest has a strong aftertaste and flavor due to the continuous sunny weather before the spring harvest. This year's tea has a thicker body than usual and a very satisfying taste.
After aging for some years in Malaysia, the tea has developed a smooth drinking sensation with a dried fruity note.
Wu Liang Shan has many old tea trees
Wu Liang Shan is a mountain range that extends from Pu-erh county south to Dali in Yunnan, stretching about 400 km in length.
Some people may imagine Wu Liang Shan as a single high mountain, but it actually refers to a broad area consisting of many ethnic minority villages. As a result, the quality of tea varies widely depending on the village and mountain.
Wu Liang Shan Raw Pu-erh Tea is produced from fresh tea leaves of old tea trees grown at about 2,000 meters in Lincang.
The tea garden is owned by ethnic minorities—the Rafu and Ye ethnic groups.
They maintain their tea garden in a completely wild style, using no fertilizer or pesticide and conducting no pruning of the tea trees. This practice has been continued for hundreds of years.
Tea trees grow independently like wild trees, and the garden is surrounded by natural vegetation. Even without fertilizer, the environment forms a balanced ecosystem, making the tea garden completely sustainable.
In a sustainable tea garden, the tea trees grow more slowly. The leaves are smaller, and each leaf consists of smaller cells. Due to this slow growth, the tea accumulates more polyphenols and other substances, resulting in a thicker, richer taste.
"Thick taste" means richness and a deep aftertaste—not bitterness or astringency. For example, an apple without a lingering aftertaste feels shallow. Ice cream from a convenience store is sweet enough but lacks a strong finish. The same applies to tea: naturally and slowly grown tea has a much deeper aftertaste.
Some people may think that most Yunnan tea comes from natural farming gardens.
In fact, nowadays most Yunnan tea is grown with fertilizers.
In recent years, the price of Yunnan tea has gradually increased and old tea trees have become popular. Because of this, many tea farmers have started applying fertilizer to increase productivity and yield. This trend is happening not only in China but also in Myanmar and Laos. The number of naturally farmed teas is now far smaller than those grown using modern agricultural practices.
Wu Liang Shan Raw Pu-erh Tea has a strong aftertaste and medium body
Those who enjoy a strong aftertaste will love this tea. It has a flavor reminiscent of sugarcane, with hints of brown sugar and honey, and a smooth drinking sensation. The tea processing was well-managed, and it has no smoky or scorched flavor.
This tea is easy to enjoy even when young, and it is also excellent after aging for several years.
Why are some tea lovers so passionate about Pu-erh tea?
We often say to our customers, "oolong for flavor and Pu-erh for taste." No tea can match the depth of a quality Pu-erh. The taste we are referring to is the extent of the aftertaste lingering down the throat. The flavor of well-aged Pu-erh is also wonderful, but the greatest advantage of Pu-erh tea remains its aftertaste.
In particular, the taste is remarkable when the tea is grown at high altitudes, harvested from old tea trees, and produced without fertilizer. An oolong tea of equivalent quality would command an astronomical price. The real charm of Pu-erh tea lies in its thick taste, abundant sweetness, and a soft drinking sensation like pure water flowing down the throat.
Usually, tea begins developing an aged flavor after 3–4 years of storage. Well-aged tea develops flavors of fruit or honey. Even those new to Pu-erh tea should find the aged flavor easy to enjoy.
The naturally farmed tea garden in Wu Liang Shan
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.
