$15.50 – $140.00
An essential, classic, and respected territory in the more localized Yiwu area. If you’re into eastern Xishuangbanna teas because of their luxuriant thickness, mellow flavor, gentle yet strong energy, and signature sweetness that only gets more viscous with age, proper 麻黑 Mahēi village tea helped define this. Just northeast slightly of Luo Shui Dong, these two legendary growing areas are just a short drive from Yiwu town, resting in between 1300-1450 meters in elevation. Here the Hé family tend to old arbor trees between 3 and 4 meters tall.
While Luo Shui Dong and Mahei are like conjoined twin growing areas geographically side by side, there are some key differences in their teas' expressions. Luo Shui Dong has a higher floral fragrance with a well balanced and complex mouthfeel. Mahei has more of a honey-like aroma and an expansive mouthfeel, bold and juicy with less astringency.
Both are exceptional teas by the Hé family. High class, zhengshan old growth productions like these are what this family does best, and what their main clientele are after. Fabulous now or be sure to devote your best storage parameters to these teas, as they're sure to ripen and complexify into indescribable elysium well into the future.
We released this tea last year to it quickly selling out, so we are excited to bring it back!
Some images from a session of this year's Mahei by Arden Yang:
From the Hé family:
a proliferated yet controversial map
More on the Hé family: if you have checked out Jinghong Zhang's book Pu'er Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic then you are already familiar with the Hé family, as senior Mr. Hé is written about as a prominently featured tea producer that proves successful in his endeavors to retain the classic feel of the home production Yiwu tribute tea while meeting new QS standards by investing in new state of the art production facilities. See both Mr. Hé and his son (who has now taken over the business) in this episode of Jinghong Zhang's fascinating mini documentary.
More teas from this family:
original Pangolin artwork by Arulu Gallagher
