This tea is really spectacular!

What a glorious treat for both a Yunnan tea enthusiast and for someone who has never tasted a wild-grown, old-tea-tree-varietal Yunnan dian hong. This tea is manufactured from a very old varietal of camellia sinensis – the Ye Sheng varietal – which was identified and named even before the Assamica varietyn eastern Assam India.

This natural, local, indigenous varietal presents an argument for Yunnan being a strong candidate as the original location of tea as a wild plant. Grown around 2000 meters in altitude, it is a hearty tree that reflects the terroir of its forest habitat.

Starting with the dry leaf: expertly-formed large leaf tea shows an open, gentle twist. The color is completely unique – it is gray and brown and cordovan all at the same time and then there is an edging of a rich, dark reddish stain that is reminiscent of the color of burgundy wine in the glass. The wet leaf shows a similar profile, however the leaf takes on a modified hue.

The first prominent aspect of the aroma startled us – the dry leaf smells similar to our well-made yan cha! So, even though this leaf is from old tea trees in southwest China, the aroma of the dry leaf is similar to that of a mature-tea-bush oolong harvested in central China. There is complexity to spare in the aromatic quality of this tea: the allure of the earth-floor combines with mushroom and clean, dry moss teases the palate.

When steeped, the aroma adjusts and clarifies, bringing in the softly spicy notes found in RouGui yan cha – what tea enthusiasts call “tea cinnamon”. There is a dry, slightly minty returning flavor that is quite pleasant as it lingers on the palate.

This is an extremely rare tea and will not be available in any sizable quantity. TeaTrekker contracted for 10% of the entire 2014 manufacture of this spectacular tea with the remainder being sold mostly on the domestic market in China. It will improve with age for many months and should drink well through 2015.

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