Mountain Spring

This amazing tea is from old-growth trees of the Ai Lao Mountain range in Yunnan, China. This legendary tea is made by our dear tea auntie, Ai Li Juan, who is a member of the Ku Chuong tribe from the village of Qian Jia Zhai. She loves tea and her culture. In fact, a vast amount of the funds she raises from the production of old-growth Puerh is being devoted to preserving Ku Chuong cultural heritage, from weaving to singing and dancing. Along with the dian hong version, Daughter of the Forest, Mountain Spring is a beautiful example of clean old-growth tea from Ai Lao.

Mountain Spring is from different trees than our last batch a few years ago, so much so that we think it required a different name other than “Mountain Gate.” We find this batch to have a gentler Qi and to be less fragrant, but smoother with an incredible patience, lasting many, many steepings. They are both equally smooth and clean, which is to be expected. Previous years of Mountain Gate were more sour, while this year’s Mountain Spring is sweeter and slightly more bitter with more astringency.