Xi Gui Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh Cake 2020

On the west bank of the Lancang River, there is a small mountain village called Xigui. Not only does it have a nice name, it also produces a very famous Pu'erh tea - Xigui Ancient Tree Tea. It is said that Xigui tea is rich in endoplasm and can brew multiple steeps. The tea liuid is full of taste, the aroma is high, the cha qi is strong but the taste is soft and delicate, accompanied by strong sweetness and fluid production, and the fragrance lasts for a long time.

Indeed, we were attracted by its long-lasting aroma when we drank it for the first time, even the last few steeps, it still exists. The first three steeps are soft and sweet, the fragrance gradually spreads in mouth; from the forth steep, we may feel a bit astringent on the tip of the tongue, but it will dissipate soon, and followed with a strong sweet aftertaste, producing a copious secretion of saliva. The next few steeps become mellower, with a hint of rock sugar flavor. In the end, it will become sweet and soft again. After drinking, the fragrance of tea has been lingering in our mouth and nasal cavity; even drinking plain water we will feel it has a sweet aftertaste.

	Cup Method		Chinese Gongfu Method
	Teacup: 12oz / 355ml		Gaiwan: 3.8oz / 110ml
	203℉ / 95℃		203℉ / 95℃
	5g Tea		8g Tea
	Brewing time: 2 - 3 mins		11 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 80s, 100s, 120s

Xigui Village lies in the eastern area of the Bangdong region. Bounded by Lancang River on the west, this village sits along a large altitude gradient of 3,300 meters at its western boundary to only 800 meters at its east. This is uncommon in Yunnan province, and as a result establishes the village as one of the most precious and treasured production areas for pu-erh tea. The average temperature here is about 21℃, and it receives about 1200mm of rainfall a year. All of these conditions are favorable towards crop growth.

Most of the ancient tea trees in Xigui are grown in the old forest here, with some trees up to 200 years old. By 2012, Bangdong Township had more than 3,570 acres of tea gardens in total, including 1,275 acres of precious ancient tea gardens.

A born-and-bred Yunnan farmer, Mr. Zhou has been avidly contributing to the tea business for more than 20 years. A short chat with him made his passion for using traditional tea crafting processes apparent.

He values the essential quality inside the tea leaves, and says that his experience comes from spending most of his time in the tea gardens along the mountains.

Mr. Zhou is passionate about bringing out that internal quality of the tea to share with tea lovers around the world - and also claims that the best environment for growing the perfect tea is in Fengqing.

At the 14th Chinese Tea Industry Economic Annual Conference in 2021, Mr. Zhou won the honorary title of "National Tea Craftsman -- Tea Master".

Xigui Village is a small village in the mountainous area of Bangdong Township, Lincang, Yunnan Province at the eastern foot of the Bangdong Snow Mountain chain. Unsurprisingly, there are tea gardens located in these mountains at elevations of over 2,000 meters above sea level. With a sea of clouds always hanging over the lower parts of these mountains, sunlight is often unable to penetrate to the ground until past noon: this means that the tea trees are hazed by mist throughout most of the day, and absorb the essence from the clouds. Lu Yu once said in his work The Classic of Tea: “Better mountains, better mist, and better tea.”

The Bangdong large-leaf species is an arbor type of tea tree, and is quite large. Originating in Bangdong County, Lincang, these trees can grow up to 9 meters high, and contain a high amount of tea polyphenols and catechins. The spring one-bud, two-leaf tea contains 2.8% amino acids, 28.3% polyphenols, 4.4% caffeine, 18.5% catechins, and 46.4% water extractives.

The tea leaves used to make this cake were carefully selected and picked from trees of this variety, about a hundred years old. These trees are grown entirely naturally, without any fertilizer or pesticides used and only manual trimming and care techniques.

Pu-erh tea is one of the oldest types of tea in China, with a history stretching back over 1,700 years to the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the tea was called Jing Cha. Pu-erh is named after the town of Pu’er in Yunnan province, which was the original trading center of this tea. In its early history, this tea was actually used as bartering currency in southwest China, where the famed Cha Ma Gu Dao, “Tea Horse Road”, was built for the sole purpose of transporting it through the Himalayas to other countries and areas in Tibet.