Arrived into Shantou, the city of Phoenix Mountain, one of my favorite, and oldest, tea cultures in the world. Inhabited by centuries old arbor type camellia sinensis trees, these are some formidable teas.
Pictured here: Mid mountain 700 meter Ya Sai, or Duck Poop Phoenix Oolong. Only the locals drink this tea and not everyone can afford the peak mountain old trees. But where there is demand, there is a way- the ducks didn’t migrate, the branches of the original trees did, midway down the mountain for faster growth and more yield. Last year, we got the Duck Poop Phoenix from the 1400 meter high, original trees of course. It’s not the same without the ducks!