Yunnan

Yunnan (云南 — “south of the clouds”) is China’s south-western province on the borders of Laos and Myanmar and, by the general verdict of botanists, the birthplace of the tea tree itself. Tea is not so much grown here as it simply grows: trees hundreds of years old still stand in the mountain forests.

What it is famous for

Yunnan is the kingdom of pu-erh: both sheng and shou come from here — from Menghai, Yiwu and Lincang counties and mountains like Wuliang. The broad leaf of the local tea-tree variety (da ye zhong) gives a dense, sweet, long-lasting liquor — the very character that makes pu-erh worth ageing for decades. The province’s second ace is Dian Hong, Yunnan red tea with honey-pepper sweetness and golden buds.

Land and climate

Highlands from one to well over two thousand metres, mild winters, mists and red soils — the leaf ripens slowly here and gathers flavour like mountain honey. The difference between a garden bush and an old tree is audible in the cup at once: tree teas are deeper, calmer and noticeably longer.

In our collection

Nearly all our pu-erhs are Yunnanese, from young shengs to aged gong ting. It is the most direct way to taste the province — mountain by mountain, year by year.