Try AncientArborTea.com -- take 15% off your first 3 orders with the coupon code "steepster15"
Hey Steepster Community!
We’re a young new company out of California run with love by 3 tea addicts and enthusiasts. With the recent opening of our online store, we wanted to offer an exclusive sale to the Steepster community! For the month of June, 15% off your first 3 orders with the coupon code “steepster15”.
At Ancient Arbor Tea, our goal is quality over quantity. By making that commitment, we are able to stay close to the production process every step of the way — from ancient forest to cup. We source nothing but certified USDA organic, handpicked, old tree tea leaves from tea trees growing in Lan Cang, Yunnan. These teas exude unparalleled quality, purity, and energy that you can taste and feel. Simply put, they make you feel great.
Check us out at www.AncientArborTea.com
For the month of June, take 15% off your first three purchases with the coupon code “steepster15”
Fast shipping from the US.
The claim of 1500 year old trees is a little difficult to believe. You are claiming all your tea comes from trees this old? Such trees are rare beyond diamonds.
Yes, that is correct, as large as the claim may seem. Old trees certainly are rare in the greater, grand scheme teas available on the US market. Nonetheless, old tree teas of this age are available. More surprisingly, a handful of ancient arbor, old tree tea groves in China/Yunnan are only harvesting and processing half as much as they could potentially produce from the trees.
At the moment we have 7 different teas available. However, all of the tea currently available from Ancient Arbor Tea is harvested from ancient arbor, old trees around that age. Likewise, all of the tea available on our website is produced from the broad leaf “da-ye” varietal of the camellia sinensis plant traditionally used in the production of pu’erh teas.
More internet bullshit…
Your site is easy to navigate and the colors are nice, but really… if all of your teas come from 1500+ year old trees that mankind hasn’t touched and now it is only picked twice a year… I can’t even, I’ll just leave it at this.
Yes, a 4 oz sampler of non-cultured, non-pressed ancient arbor, old tree tea leaves is $32 from us. The presently available teas are our standard, more affordably priced teas. That being said, the forthcoming tea that will soon be added (a “moonlight white,” an ancient oolong, aged pu’erh cakes and loose, etc.), will certainly exceed the prices of our currently available teas.
In conjunction, we are able to price more affordably as we have a legitimately direct relationship with the plantation owners in Yunnan.
Just want to say that I understand it sucks to rework things and all… but this going up and you acting with 5 hours is a really good sign. YS has a great point below, if you had been on here for awhile just chatting it up and then dropped this on us it would be a little different… but, enough of that. Welcome to Steepster. I hope this gets burried and we get to hear more about those you’re working with and the differences they have going on in the tea industry within the whole Yunnan area.
Hi AncientArborTea,
I just wanted to say that there some extraordinary claims about some tea on here a while back. Please do not take the sarcasm as a personal attack there are loads of good people here and those that have posted have my respect. I don’t know if you guys do samples but maybe sending a sample to those above to just get the ball rolling. I always say the tea speaks for itself. Good tea young, old or ancient is still good tea. Transparency on what you are selling is a good thing. Most of our vendors keep this in mind.
Welcome in and hope you guys will stay around and interact and be a part of this community.
As far as samples go: Pu’erh samples would be best sent to mrmopar, AllanK, oolongowl, and Cwyn, they are all actively read as they review and honest about what they drink.
Hey, Liquid Proust!
Thanks for the heads up and direction! To all of those above, yourself included — I’d love to send you guys some samples! Feel free to PM me with shipping info. Let me, what do we favor here — raw or ripe/“cooked” pu’erh, here?
I’ll put together an assortment tea samples for you guys. Feel free to let me know your preferences when sending shipping information and I’ll work around your preferences and send some of the soon to be added (raw and ripe pu’erh included).
Cheers!
[email protected] Steepster PM system is annoying as we both have to follow each other and half the time I never get the email notification.
Awesome! I’ll shoot you an email! Others above interested, please feel free to give me your email.
Cheer!
I also find this extremely difficult to believe. Even if we throw the age out the window I find it odd that someone would use ancient arbor puer leaf to make jasmine pearls when the main feature of Jasmine tea is well..the jasmine scent. Not to mention that the pearls look the same as normal pearls.. why not post a picture of the brewed tea? As 2dog has said let’s let the tea speak for itself but I would advise people to disregard the age when shopping. I’d be interested in hearing what others have to say and seeing the brewed tea leaves
Hi, sirturtletheknight!
Thanks for the response. Honestly, we agree with you. I personally disregard age when shopping tea. And, in agreement with mrmopar — old, young, cultured or not — good tea is good tea. We don’t claim to be the best tea. We just know these teas have great energy, we enjoy them, and have a great connection with them — it just so happens (from our perspective) that they are of that age.
You are correct. It is odd. It definitely is different in the US market. But, why not make Jasmine Pearls from da-ye leaves if you have them? We often forget about the Chinese market, the local market of the Miao people who harvest the tea, and others in the area who drink these teas as well. Should they not make Jasmine Pearls for themselves and others in the area to drink just because they harvest older tea trees? Again, we do’t mean to say these are the best. They are simply an interesting take on traditional standards, just this time with the da-ye varietal. In that vein, Mao Feng green tea is traditionally from Anhui. But that doesn’t mean you cannot process and finish a Yunnan grown, da-ye camellia leaf in the same style. The same goes for all of our selections; da-ye Silver Needles from Yunnan and likewise with our Silver Tips and soon to come Amber Moonlight — all normally from Fujian.
We strive to bring a small selection of interesting teas from a plantation and people with which we have cultivated a relationship.
And, again, I agree — disregard age and let tea speak to you for itself. We’ve selected our tea offerings based upon our personal relationship with the plantation, AND THEN, on the fact that they are some of our personal favorites (and we know everyone has their own).
Thanks!
I could pick apart every every word and claim made by the OP on here and their site and breakdown why logically speaking it’s impossible.
The fact that the the OP keeps referring to “plantation” in regards to said old tea trees is very telling. I suspect English is not their first language so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on that.
I will say this one last time on here… tea from 1500 year old tea trees is also called “un-obtanium”.
Here’s some tidbits from my response to Verdant on their claim of 1800 year old tree tea. These are not written as a direct response to AncientArborTea, but are added here as a reference.
The Yunnan Economic Time Newspaper article is great ( http://jjrbpaper.yunnan.cn/page/1743/2011-03-18/02/5521300383425671.PDF ), in that it talks about the only tea picking that took place in the last 20 years was in 2007. When the 2007 tea picking took place, there was a group of 8 different minority people’s from Lincang that took part. It was a big event and the there was enough leaf picked to make a single 499 gram cake which was auctioned for 400,000 CNY ($62,500 USD). It has not been picked since and in the article it also says that if someone is caught picking the tree it’s a national offense with a fine of 50,000 CNY (7800 USD).
If the trees are truly that old you’d have China domestic sellers beating down his (Master Zhou) door every spring to purchase the material for 10’s of thousands of renminbi per kilogram as they could easily re-sell them to discerning mainland Pu-erh aficionados for whom money is no problem. So Master Zhou doesn’t sell tea to any of these people? He only sells his tea to foreigners for price nearly a 1/5 of Lao Ban Zhang mao cha? Yeah I know that Qian Jia Zhai isn’t as famous as Lao Ban Zhang, but come on, an 1800 year old tea tree mao cha? Yunnan has developed alot in the past 15 years, there is no magical unknown place with some undiscovered old tea trees where people are selling cheap. In every part of Yunnan these trees are protected and if picked it would be a government (county sponsored event) and would be sold for an astronomically high amount (typically at an auction to raise money for local public works programs). The reason they are protected is to keep people away from them. They are a living heritage and deep spiritual aspect of the world tea culture, not something meant for commercial gain and consumption.
The other thing is that these thousand+ year old tea trees don’t produce the needed 20 kilograms of fresh leaves to produce (even) 5 kilograms of mao cha. The old trees are not pruned and produce very small amounts. It’s not like during a picking all the leaves are picked or even 15% of them. Picking more than that amount will stress the tea and lead to even lower yields, sickness and death. In conclusion, the quantities you state are not obtainable with one tree. So… as any educated Pu-erh drinker, seller or aficionado knows the numbers just don’t work out. Remember the Feng Qing tree that was last picked in 2007? It yielded less than 2kg fresh leaf, just enough to make one 499 gram cake!
Everything I have seen and heard in the last 12 years of being involved locally in the Yunnan Pu-erh industry says this business of producing commercial products from thousand+ year old tea trees is A) not something that is legal! AND/OR B) Not something that would reach western vendors at price point which you offer AND/OR C) It’s the classic way to cheat people. Tell them this tea is from a 1000’s of year old tea tree. When I hear that, I avoid that person (or business) like the plague.
Tea Urchin Comments: "I found an interesting link here: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Arts/7thingsabouttea/en/print_ch1.htm "Scientists have also found evidence that support this statement. They have found 3 of the world’s oldest tea trees in this region. They are the: Bada ancient tea tree, estimated to be about 1,700 years old (around the time of the Three Kingdoms) and is a wild tea tree; the Bangwei ancient tea tree, over 1,000 years old and considered to be a “transitional stage tea tree”; and the Nannuo tea tree, the “King of Tea Trees”, considered to be planted by someone in the Song dynasty, about 800 years old."
My response to AncientArborTea: I am sure you have some good teas… but I would remove the claim of them being from 1500 year old tea trees. Share some information about the region and don’t make your first post on steepster or any other forum an advertisement. I have a flourishing business and good feedback from customers. My pu-erhs are well-regarded and are sourced from trees typically no older than 300 years of age. People love them because they are clean and pure and give a good feeling. There is no need to make fantastic claims if your tea is good quality, unique and fairly priced.
Hi Yunnan Sourcing!
Despite the crushing blow from someone I truly look up to, I appreciate the response and have used your feedback constructively.
That being said, my first language is english and have only used those words as (like plantation) stateside colloquial terms. I am a recent UC college graduate with a degree in anthropology. I focused on tea production and tea trade concerning the present situation of the Miao people, the family owned processing and the Chinese national heritage site where the trees inhabit. I don’t claim to be an expert. Just an interested party. And, moreso, I do not mean to make misguided marketing claims, and have since changed my wording to fit more appropriately.
I truly apologize for any misleading marketing and have since corrected such statements. Again, my apologies.
@AncientArborTea Well… I was trying to be diplomatic, but for the reasons I have stated previously the 1500 year old claim is just not believable. You would do well to remove those claims as they are impossible to substantiate. So… can you tell us where exactly the family owned processing center is? Can you tell us how many days, months or years you have spent in Yunnan? Also you mention your teas are USDA organic. Can you share the source certificate(s) for this certification? I have never heard of an ancient grove of pu-erh trees “growing unaided” being certified Organic by an international certifying agency. I think if you are able to answer these questions and share this kind of information you’ll be one step ahead since invariably customers will be emailing you with the same sorts of questions.
UCSB?? ;-)
Hey Yunnan Sourcing!
I have since revised all of said existing claims. Like Liquid Proust said above, it hurts but I am certainly gracious of the feedback and working with it to improve.
Although I grew up drinking tea here in the states, I came to tea through the people that cultivate/produce tea (and, of course a love for the beverage), moreso than my interests in brewing and hunting for a new tea for my cup. That being said, although my path has been different thus far, I hope to share these teas and my experiences with anyone interested.. As we are a recently crafted online shop, I’m working hard on getting everything going. However, there will soon be more information in a coming blog section.
At first, I was hoping to leave myself out of the picture in terms of attempting to sell tea through an expertise or hierarchy of experience as I believe like you said, "People love them because they are clean and pure and give a good feeling.” And further than that, I don’t like writing about myself. But, In light of the recent discussion, I will be altering my approach.
As an anthropology major whose read more Marx than can fit in a bathtub, the whole business thing is weird, so bear with me while I fumble. I truly appreciate all of the feedback and hope to grow from it!
UCSC, but I’ve lived in SB :)
@AncientArborTea It’s good to hear you want to help people. But make sure that in your quest to help the people in China you actually achieve your aim. Helping them if they are being dishonest will bring ruin upon your business, and in my opinion dishonest people are not worth helping. It’s your job not to just support tea growers but also to support your customers. Without customers, you won’t be able to help anybody! If you don’t have all the information first-hand then you had better spend the time it takes at the source to get it all. I am assuming your source told you that all these teas were from 1500 year old tea trees?
As I mentioned before, we work with honest people and none of them have ever made dubious claims about the teas they source. We have been putting money in the pockets of families in Yunnan for more than a decade and it feels awesome. It also feels great to offer customers something really enjoyable at a reasonable price as well. I don’t think being involved in turning a profit is bad or evil as long as there is mutual respect and everyone is satisfied with what they got out of the transaction at the end of the day. My customers have expectations of my business, I have expectations from the people that grow the tea and they expect me to pay the price they ask for their teas. In many cases I get the privilege of having the first opportunity to purchase as there are many other buyers who would also buy given the chance. I get this “privilege” because I am an 老客户 (old customer) and because I always pay up front for everything. In many cases I send money even before the tea is harvested.
Anyways, (I went on a bit of a tangent) I am glad you are committed to the truth of the matter and open to criticism. I think you will find the folks on steepster to be very open and welcoming, while at the same time ever more discerning! Wish you the best in your undertaking. If I can help in any way please don’t hesitate to contact me directly by email.
- Scott
p.s. UCSC… great school and a lovely place!
I would never have bought tea claiming to be from 1500 year old trees anyway. You are much better off revising your claims. If the farmers told you the tea was from 1500 year old trees they may well simply have been lying to you. It is my understanding that tea trees older than 200 years are quite rare anywhere in Yunnan.
I for one will be most interested to hear the reports on the tea, as your willingness to listen to feedback is a good start for a new tea company.
And welcome to Steepster!
Hey, Wocket!
Thank you, kindly! Much appreciated! Starting a tea company was never in my sight, especially concerning a lot of the negative aspects studied in the tea trade. With that, we are all ears on feedback. And, in all honesty, I would love for this to be an “open source” project as we grow.
I would like to ask a simple question, as these exchanges seem to be beating around the bush. How did you conclude that all of your teas came from trees that old? I must say it feels like you are not being honest about things. People are being polite, but I would like to hear a direct answer.
Rich, I don’t think you are going to get an answer. I would like it answered too. They said something about their being groves of such trees in existence, something I believe to be false. I believe that the odd tree that old does exist but have never heard of anyone talk about a grove of such trees. And as Scott says they can get large sums of money for such teas so are unlikely to sell them for $32 for 4 ounces.
I think the Miao “ancestors” on your site really means “descendants.” But I would be careful claiming much more than a common “root” among the Miao, they are a huge and very diverse population, comparable to European or African diversity with differences in language and other characteristics for hundreds of years. The Miao are widespread across China and countries beyond. Yunnan Miao has developed as a specific group.
It is like saying I, as a Polish woman, descend from makers of bleu cheese and lutefisk, simply because my DNA contains east, west, and Northern European strains. But the reality is my ancestors have been in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years, I can’t claim bleu cheese just because of my general European ethnicity. I’m sure many Miao do not identify with early Chinese tea pickers of legend.
I have another question about your tea. You say they are USDA certified organic. I was unaware that the Chinese government allowed the USDA to go into Yunnan and run certification programs. Maybe you mean they are organic according to the standards of the Chinese government?
From what I understand, either that vendor or the middleman it’s buying from should be listed here: https://apps.ams.usda.gov/integrity/
But even if they were, be aware that USDA organic certification for food imported from China doesn’t mean much anyway.
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