2014 Hunan Qian Liang Tea

Qian Liang Tea (千两茶 Thousand Liang Tea) has a history that dates back to the Tongzhi period (1862-1875) of the Qing Dynasty. It is an ancient tea with a unique production process. The tea is compressed using a traditional trampling technique that requires the collaborative effort of 6-8 skilled craftsmen. This process produces tea rolls with uniform and compact textures. In 1983, staff at the Palace Museum in Beijing discovered two "tree-shaped tea trunks" while sorting through Emperor Jiaqing's artifacts, providing physical evidence that these tea rolls were imperial tribute tea during the Qing Dynasty. In 1997, Baishaxi Tea Factory fully restored the production of these tea trunks, making what was once imperial tribute tea affordable for ordinary people. In 2008, the craft of making Anhua Qian Liang Tea was officially listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. Known as the "King of Teas," Qian Liang Tea's esteemed reputation perfectly encapsulates its rich history, striking appearance, unparalleled craftsmanship, and profound inner qualities.

This particular Qian Liang Tea, produced in 2014, was crafted using carefully selected old tea trees of the Yuntai large-leaf variety 云台大叶种 from the Xuefeng Mountain range 雪峰山脉 in Anhua. The tea was handpicked, using only the "Hua Bai Geng” (花白梗 speckled white stalks) fresh leaves as raw material. Following ancient Qing Dynasty methods, the tea was manually pressed and sun-dried. It was stored in its original form in the standardized tea warehouse of Baishaxi for eight years of aging and transformation before being cut into tea cakes. During the summer, skilled craftsmen are selected to form teams and manually process the tea using traditional trampling techniques. From start to finish, each Qian Liang Tea is entirely handcrafted, with no involvement of machines or modern tools. Even the drying process is done naturally through sun exposure.

The dry tea carries a faint smoky aroma, which is both aged and pure. The storage environment is clean, free from any musty, or foreign odors. It exudes honey fragrance, bean curd aroma, and milky notes. The aroma is rich and persistent, with a sweet and lasting scent that lingers on the cup. The taste is mellow, smooth, and sweet, with a refreshing smoothness upon entry and a distinctive mountain terroir character.