Wild 野生 puerh tea

Do you know why puerh tea made from old trees or the so-called wild (野生) puerh can command a premium price over the other puerh tea?

The answer is in the trees this type of puerh is harvested. Generally the older the trees the better the tea. Why old trees produce good puerh tea. The reason is that old trees produce huge leaves which are essentially good to produce high quality puerh tea. How old are these trees? In certain part of Yunnan (especially the Panchang district in Yunnan), there are many old puerh trees that grow in the wild (not cultivated). The age of these trees ranges from 500 to more than a thousand years old. Generally any trees older than 500 years are considered good for high quality puerh tea. To harvest the tea, the locals have to climb up the trees to plug the tea leaves. That is why there is a popular saying (one of 18 strange things in Yunnan), it is not a surprise to see old ladies climbing up trees in Yunnan ('cos they are tea harvesters).

Alans Museum has a collection of some of these wild puerh tea. It is made in the year 2004 in the form of bricks. This tea is considered the unfermented version (green puerh) of puerh tea which requires a longer period of storage. However, the tea at present is still drinkable and its colour has turned from greenish to slightly brownish. Obviously with age this tea will get better and better.

Wild puerh tea bricks

Manufactured in 2004

Another puerh wild tea made in 2001