The other side of tea

The tea was picked from the trees growing in the surroundings of Nanmei village in a semi-wild mountain garden. It is a handmade picked tea, dried in the sun “shai hong”, coming from old trees, produced traditionally by a small family manufacturer that we visited during our trip to Yunnan. The tea leaves were formed into small eight-gram balls – Long Zhu (Dragon Balls).

When brewed, the small balls unfold into beautiful big oxidated leaves. The infusion releases a very interesting mixture of dryness and lightness. A slight bitter base opens an accumulated blaze of tastes. You can find there a very pleasant grape peel, dry apricot, green apple, plain molasses sweetness, and bitterness of the nut. All of that is closing a final delicate aroma resembling smoked prunes. The tea is well-balanced and filled with an enjoyable layer of tannins.

Harvest: Spring 2023
Origin: Nanmei, Lincang, Yunnan