2010 Yunnan Sourcing "Man Zhuan" Autumn Harvest Yi Wu

Entirely Ancient Arbor tea from Autumn (October) 2010 Harvest from Man Zhuan in Yi Wu mountain range. Man Zhuan is one of the six famous tea mountains in Banna and is just north of Yi Wu.

This is our second production of tea from this area is from the same family as last year’s! We have selected autumn harvest (谷花茶) wild arbor material from the area of “Man Zhuan” (蛮砖), a higher mountain areas in the Yi Wu mountain. Man Zhuan area teas are known for their special thick aroma and a taste that with age becomes stronger and more textured. This tea comes from wild arbor trees between 200 and 300 years old growing on a sunny south facing slope.

When brewing the tea you will notice the tea soup is a bright yellow-gold and clear, the aroma is penetrating and the tea is full in the mouth. The flavor is textured and thick with a strong almost chocolate-like after-taste . This is one of the more smooth and aromatic of the Yi Wu area teas. The brewed leaves are thick and stout with a dark olive-green color, attesting to their wild arbor origin.

This tea was compressed in a small tea factory in Yi Wu town where unusually large 40 kilogam stone presses were used. Low temperature (35C) “baking” was used to dry these cakes after the compression process thus preserving their integrity! In total just 30 kilograms of this tea has been produced. We have delayed sales of this cake for more than 4 weeks to allow the water vapor from pressing to dissipate. Further aging will only improve this wonderful tea!