Three little pigs went to the market. Here at the Bulang village where the wild old tea trees live, the pigs are equally wild.
Me, and Mr. Wang, one of the most serious, and seriously respected, Pu-Erh merchants around. To say he is merely a merchant though, is hardly close to his deep expertise, selection process, serious attention to all nuances, and his ability to push all the levers throughout the new incarnations of the old Menghai and Yunnan factories. He is responsible for setting the standards for what is regarded as some of the highest quality Pu-erh. Here we pay homage together to the old trees of Bulang, Mr. Wang’ favorite mountain for Pu-Erh.
I made my way up 1600 meters atop Bulang Shan 布朗山 after the burst of torrents，to one of the Six Ancient Tea mountains, where the ancient Pu-Erh trees live. Blue skies and incredible cumulus formations after the storm.
On top of Bulang Shan. People are not too sure but these Pu-Erh trees are over 1500 years old, and who’s counting? Maybe 1800 years or more. The leaves are palm size, and the tops are 25 or 30 feet tall. How long do these trees live? Camellia Sinensis, an incredible plant of longevity, also gives longevity to those of us who can’t live without it.
How can this be called anything but Camellia Sinensis Pu-Erh? The original tea of the world, a world treasure.
Sudden and fierce torrential downpour= no going up the mountain today, no harvesting, no production. Loudest thunder and biggest lightening bolts ever seen. Yunnan is a land of extremes.
For Pu-Erh, ugly is the new pretty. The conventionally pretty white tippy buds(right) of the Spring Pu-Erh, are relatively useless for aged Pu-Erh. After a period of aging, these white tips will have no taste. Aging the tea requires the more mature hardy leaves (left). In the Spring, many of these large arbor type tea plants will produce some enormous silver buds. Uneducated consumers will prefer these….