• handmade item

• materials: big-leaved arbor tea leaves from the town of Mengku

• shape: loose leaf

Handcrafted from the rare Tengtiao maocha, harvested from the ancient tea gardens of Mengku town, Lincang City, in the spring of 2015, this black tea stands out with its black and golden slim strands. It brews a vibrant orange liquor, exuding distinct rose, honey, and malty aromas, and leaves a lingering sweet aftertaste, making it a truly unique tea experience.

Black tea from Yunnan, commonly known as Dianhong or 'Yunnan red' in Chinese, is a mark of premium quality. The production process begins with fresh leaves from ancient tea trees, which are then rolled, fermented, dried, and sieved into various grades. This fully fermented tea is considered one of China’s finest black teas, a testament to its superior quality and taste.

What sets this black tea apart is not just the type of tea tree from which it is produced, but also the unique production technique. Tengtiao, meaning cane or rattan, is the name of a kind of tea tree with very distinct slender and long branches; these 200 to 300-year-old trees can only be found in the ancient tea gardens around the town of Mengku, located in Shuangjiang County of Yunnan province in China. Since the Qing dynasty, these trees have been shaped using a unique technique that trims off all the excessive sub-branches and bigger leaves, leaving only two fresh tea buds per branch for harvesting. This meticulous process, combined with the exclusivity of the trees, results in a fragrance unseen in most tea, piquing the interest of even the most discerning tea enthusiasts.