Spring in Jingmai’s ancient groves
In March 2023, this lot came from Jingmai Mountain in southern Yunnan, drawn from its centuries-old tea forests, grown under a managed forest canopy rather than cleared plantation rows, a landscape UNESCO recognised as a cultural heritage site in 2023. The work went through a Hani family partner of many years, days spent walking the misty slopes, selecting plots where tea trees a century or more old grow without pesticides beneath camphor and wild bamboo.
The spring flush was hand-picked in early April, when the leaves are thick with oils and the weather dry enough for ideal sun-drying. The family processed the leaves the same day: careful withering, quick pan-firing to halt oxidation, hand-rolling, and spreading on bamboo trays under the Yunnan sun. The resulting maocha was lightly stone-pressed into 357g cakes in a small, family-run workshop, preserving a texture prized for aging.
This cake is a snapshot of pristine terroir at a moment of perfect spring energy, one that will evolve gracefully in a home cellar. Once cupped and split at the Kunming station, it moved to listing, still carrying the same spring it was picked in.