单株 Dān zhū, translating to single tree, production represents the latest pu'er connoisseur fetish, as it suggests one leg above specialty ancient tree tea with a telescoping emphasis down to the specificity of one highly prized singular tree's tea.

Dá É's ancient tree gardens in Stone Village have a few larger, older specimens that have always stood out to us.  As one of the most idyllic and distinguished creatures in this fecund ecology, we chose the tree often referred to as 优和 Yōu hé for our first commissioned dan zhu production.  The Chinese is just a phonetic spelling of an Akha word meaning “the largest in the garden.” at 5 meters high, with a trunk circumference of 40cm (16 inches), and an estimated age of 400 years, You He is a most suitable specimen for dan zhu production.

But Dan zhu tea can be hit or miss: the flavor attributes of tea from just one tree can be super distinct and don’t benefit from getting balanced / averaged out by the amalgam of qualities bestowed to a production by the leaves harvested from a plurality of organisms. Just a single tree’s tea will often be charmingly unique or offensively quirky; it can often take someone keen on appreciating the tea beyond just the experience of the infusion.

Communing with You He’s tea is a hit, however.  Soft yet strong, undocile yet endearing, gentle yet loud: classic robust Nannuo tea flavor will be doled out, smooth and viscous.  Surplus minerality suffused into the flush of leaves by ancient tree’s roots’ deeper soil/mineral access suspends the tea session into a lengthier tale with surprise endings.  We look forward to more Dan zhu old growth productions from Da E’s larger trees in the future.  We're proud to offer danzhu tea at under $1/gram!

From this same garden and producer this year: sheng pu'er, white tea, red tea

Dá É up in the boughs of Yōu hé