The origin of this tea, Muyangjie 木阳界, is a natural sanctuary for old-growth tea trees. Tea bushes grow wild among primitive hardwood forests or in scattered clusters within old tea gardens. This distinctive terroir gives the tea its defining character—remarkable sweetness. Compared with most regions in Anhua, Muyangjie teas are notably sweeter, with a clean, mellow, and naturally rich profile. Muyangjie belongs to Qinzi Mountain 罄子山, part of Anhua’s renowned “Five Mountains and Six Valleys” system. Qinzi Mountain is the second-highest peak in Anhua, reaching an elevation of 1,354 meters. The soil here is largely formed from weathered slate, echoing the words of The Classic of Tea: “The finest tea grows where the land is rocky and broken.” Combined with high altitude and year-round mist, these conditions create an ideal environment for tea cultivation.
This tea is crafted using the cold fermentation method traditionally applied to Flower Brick tea. The controlled piling process allows for thorough fermentation, fully transforming bitter and astringent compounds. Drying is carried out through a smoke-free baking process, eliminating any smoky notes and allowing the tea’s naturally soft, sweet, and pure character to shine through. The leaves are harvested in early spring, primarily one bud with around three leaves—neither too tender nor too mature—ensuring abundant internal substances. In particular, the tea is rich in amino acids and tea polysaccharides, which contribute significantly to its sweetness and body.
When brewed gongfu-style, the liquor is thick and full-bodied, with pronounced fruit notes and honeyed sweetness. Boiling the tea brings out an even deeper, rounder sweetness, while steeping yields a more concentrated and lingering aroma. The dry tea appears dark brown with subtle green hues, glossy and well-formed. The brick naturally separates into small pieces, requiring no prying and making it easy to brew. The aroma is rich and enduring, with notes of ripe fruit, plum, and jujube kernel emerging from both the liquor and the infused leaves, while the empty cup retains a clear honey-like fragrance. The spent leaves are bright brown-green, clean and even, with a portion of tender stems blended in—enhancing sweetness and adding nutritional value through higher amino acid and polysaccharide content.
The brick is tightly compressed; it is recommended to rinse the tea one to two times before brewing, with each rinse lasting about 10–15 seconds. For the first three infusions, steep for 20–30 seconds. The liquor appears orange-yellow, gradually opening up, with a sweet, smooth, and gentle mouthfeel characteristic of Muyangjie’s sugarcane-like sweetness. From the fourth to seventh infusions, steep for 15–30 seconds. The liquor deepens to a reddish-golden hue, the tea reaches its peak, and the flavor becomes rich and mellow, overflowing with honey notes alongside hints of plum, raisin, and jujube sweetness, revealing the depth of old-tree character. From the eighth to twelfth infusions, steep for 30–60 seconds. The liquor returns to an orange-yellow tone, the body slightly lightens while sweetness intensifies, remaining clean and refreshing, reminiscent of fresh green sugarcane, with a noticeable uplifting tea energy. Beyond the twelfth infusion, steep for one to three minutes. The liquor turns pale yellow, yet the sweetness lingers long and soft, smooth and glutinous, like rock sugar water—exceptionally enduring and increasingly sweet with each infusion.
“Dragonfly Tea Garden” is committed to avoiding all synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Dragonflies, apex predators in the insect food chain, can only thrive in environments where ecosystems are intact and food chains complete. Through extensive field research and long-term observation, we have selected truly wild tea gardens where no pesticides or fertilizers are used. Pest control relies on natural predators such as dragonflies, maintaining ecological balance through a complete biodynamic system. This approach allows the tea trees to grow freely in nature, preserving the most authentic expression of wild terroir and the tea’s pure, original flavor.
This tea comes from the Dragonfly Tea Garden Alliance. Dragonfly Tea Garden Alliance is committed to avoiding all synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. As apex predators in the insect food chain, dragonflies can only thrive in environments where ecosystems are intact and food chains remain complete. Through extensive field research and long-term observation, we have carefully selected truly wild tea gardens where no pesticides or fertilizers are used. Pest control relies on natural predators such as dragonflies, and a stable biodynamic system is established to maintain ecological balance. This allows the tea trees to grow freely in nature, preserving the purest expression of wild mountain character and authentic terroir.
The name of this Flower Brick tea, “Mulan Dew,” is inspired by a famous line from Li Sao by Qu Yuan (c. 339 BCE – c. 278 BCE):
“At dawn I drink the dew fallen from mulan (magnolia) blossoms; at dusk I feast on the petals shed by autumn chrysanthemums.”
The verse expresses a devotion to virtue and beauty, and a longing for what is pure, refined, and untainted by the world.
