Daxueshan (Snow Mountain)
Loose Leaf Sheng Puer 2023
Very robust and rich flavor ideal for those seeking a strong traditional sheng puer. Old growth forest grown tea trees produce an apricot colored infusion with complex floral aromatics.
- Tea Origin
- Yongde County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, China
- Tea Bush
- Yunnan Dayezhong (Yunnan Large Leaf Heirloom Tea Tree)
- Tea Maker
- Chen Keke and Li Dong
- Harvest Time
- Mid-March
- Plucking Standard
- One bud, two leaves
Snow Mountain sheng puer tea came from Yongde County’s Daxueshan National Reserve in the far western edge Yunnan Province. This area belongs to the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains, the highest peak locally being 3504 meters. The tea grown in this area ranged from 1900 to 2750 meters in elevation.
These plants were discovered when the surrounding Cizhu bamboo forest flowered and died, revealing the tea trees deep in the forest.
The mao cha is produced on site, with a rustic setup in the forest where the tea was withered, fixed, and then sun dried. The aroma of the tea is rich and complex because it grows in sweet flowering azalea trees and other flowering trees in the forest. The color is a bright golden color and very clear. The taste is rich, robust, with a quickly creeping sweetness. Many infusions can be made from these thick leaves, the flavor changing from infusion to infusion.
2023’s picking shows off an entire stem of one bud with one or two tender leaves. The size of the buds is indicative of the mature tree and the rich infusion they offer. Even the fragrance of these whole dry leaves is striking. Their flavor is sweet and delicate but enduring over many infusions with color like a fresh apricot peel.
Making Daxueshan (Snow Mountain) Sheng Puer
The plucking season for Snow Mountain is remarkably long, beginning in late February or early March, and lasting into late December. Tea pickers harvest one bud and two leaves, often climbing to the top of the old forest trees to ensure high quality leaves. Due to the long plucking season, farmers return to the forest trees frequently throughout the year. Generally, after plucking, the tea trees take 15 days to a month to sprout new buds and leaves; however, due to the drought in Yunnan since 2008, it’s now upwards of a month waiting for the new growth. Our Snow Mountain comes from the early spring batches harvested in March.
After harvesting, the tea is processed on site due to the trees’ remote location. The freshly harvested leaves are laid out to wither in the sun to remove moisture from the leaves. After a few hours, the withered leaves are fried in a wok to make them soft and malleable. Green teas go through a similar frying process, called shaqing (kill green), which kills enzymes that oxidize the leaves. Unlike green teas, sheng puers are fried at a lower temperature, allowing the enzymes that allow oxidization to remain intact. While the leaves are hot and soft, they are swept from the wok with brooms made of local weeds onto bamboo mats to be kneaded. In line with traditional sheng processing, Snow Mountain is hand kneaded into the classic twisted shape. This process releases some more moisture, aka “tea juice,” and helps reduce bitterness in the final product.
Once the tea is twisted, it is laid out in the sun once again to fully dry, lasting 3-4 days. Because of this long final drying process weather poses a large risk, namely molding caused by rain and too much excess moisture. To prevent this, tea farmers build sunrooms to protect their tea while still allowing direct sunlight to dry the leaves.
Finally, the leaves are sorted, removing twigs and untwisted leaves. The whole, twisted leaves are placed in fabric bags for selling. Tea in this final, sorted state is also often called mao cha (loose leaf sun dried sheng puer).
Fermenting mao cha into a shu puer, as well as compressing into cakes, involves a whole other set of machines, technique, and supplies. Most often, Sheng producers will sell their mao cha to a company that ferments or compresses tea, rather than doing it themselves.
No chemical fertilizer, pesticide, or herbicide was used in the production of this tea. Click here to read more about our promise to fair trade and the environment.
No chemical fertilizer, pesticide, or herbicide was used in the production of this tea. Click here to read more about our promise to fair trade and the environment.
Daxueshan (Snow Mountain) 2023 brewing guidelines
5 grams (2 Tb) tea
12 oz 100°C (212ºF) water
3 min. first infusion
At least 5 infusions: 3, 3, 5, 8, 10 minutes
Try boiling it! Slowly simmering 5g of tea in one gallon of water on the stove also makes great tea and the leaves can be used multiple times. This economic manner of steeping is frequently used by the local people of Yunnan.
