There is a river of words that can be spilled in describing these teas, and puerh in general. But we will keep it (relatively) short.
We do not exclusively drink pure ancient tree teas, nor are we wholeheartedly in favor of the typically lighter processing seen in modern gushu.
But year after year we have been fascinated and charmed by these very small batch gushu teas. Quietly powerful, with clear reflection of their places of origin -- and in the case of the single tree (danzhu) productions, starkly singular expressions that have expanded our ideas of not only what tea should be, but what tea can be.
While they lack the classic balance of multi-mountain blends or the unmistakable appeal of well-aged vintages, we hope you find these selections as exciting and informative as we have. They have served to motivate our learning and our thinking about tea's potential to be great in a multitude of ways.
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A few notes:
The term "gaogan" refers to trees that have escaped trimming over their lifespan and achieved its natural "tall" form.
Danzhu refers to single-tree production.
Mahei Chawang is notable for being a small-leaf type, which is more commonly associated with Yibang...
Daheishan is the highest elevation point in Yibang, and ancient tree teas from here along with true mao'erduo (which is not a place, but a sub-type) constitute the two Yibang teas held in the highest regard. This production of Daheishan totalled less than 3 kg from a few trees.
