Yiwu Ancient Tea Mountain Spring Tea

The tea was harvested mid-day from the several hillsides in the Mahei village of Yiwu that the Bin family has handed down through the generations. The tea is carefully picked from the 200-350 year-old ancient arbor trees. The Sheng Chaa Pu'er, or Raw Green Pu'er tea, carries a variety of characteristics with it throughout the seasons. The bitterness of the autumn tea is replaced with the freshness of Spring.

Being that Pu'er is said to be the first tea the world ever saw, this tea holds a tremendous amount of history along with it. Yiwu village is home to the Ancient Tea Horse trail of the Song Dynasty of over 1000 years ago. To make for easier transport, this tea was compressed and packed into bamboo sacks carried by the horses. The long routes to Mongolia, Tibet, and all over South Asia coincidentally allowed the true character of this tea to blossom. A brick marking the start of the trail was removed by the family, then they placed a paper over the horse-shaped brick and sketched over it with charcoal;this sketch has been made into this family's design for their 2013 Spring Tea.

This particular lot was picked on March 23, 2013 and was all hand-processed using the Bin family's age-old mastery in the early morning of the 24th. The lot was then prepared and set aside for Tealet. It weighs 14kgs and is already stone-pressed into 350 gram bings, or discs. Winner will receive a total of 40 bings.

This year's Spring pick is as fresh as it gets. Pu'er holds a culture of its own that no other tea can match. Much of that culture involves its history along with the readiness that Pu'er has for aging and maturing. This Spring tea is of the finest grade and is ready to be enjoyed today; or even more so in 5+ years as the flavors deepen and the unbelievable characters of the tea start to unfold through time.

Smelling the tea, one feels as though they are there in the early morning with the farmer, roasting the fresh picked leaves. It holds a beautiful aroma of youth, freshness, and boldness. The Spring teas, once brewed, glisten in the cup and shines a life that reminds us to live. The tea liquor is a sparkling gold that is vibrant and transparent. The tea flavor is as bold as some 10 year-aged Pu'er yet as fresh as a just-picked leaf. The Da Ye, or big leaves, uncurl in the pot as you steep them and the sweetness stays on your tongue and throat as you swallow into relaxation.

Drinking this tea will showcase what Pu'er is all about: life, meditation, and the tree. Enjoying this tea is truly enjoying tea, as it originated and as it is still available in the most remote areas of the world. Yiwu's Pu'er Tea is acclaimed and known for its pleasant and mildly sweet mouth-feel and the hui gan, or throat feeling, that lingers in the throat, sweet and refreshing. Of all the Ancient Tea Mountains, Yiwu's tea is most noted for having the best body feeling, or Chaqi. Great tea not only tastes great, but will make you feel great, and many look to Yiwu for the stimulation, relaxation, and concentration its' precious teas give us.