Easily the best young tree tea I’ve tried—made with the same careful production reserved for ancient tree material. It delivers the natural, unmanaged forest profile seated in a renowned terroir, yet with a refinement rare in young tree pu’er. Soft, sweet, and full-bodied like a Mahei should be, its clean and wholesome delivery elevates it above the typical young tree daily drinker.

While it lacks the multidimensional depth and longevity of a good ancient tree tea, the quality of this 17 year old tree tea provokes a question: how much undue credit do we give to tree age, and how much belongs instead to terroir, ecosystem, garden management, and the hand of production?

Mahei, neighboring Luo Shui Doing, is a village north of Yiwu Town and is considered a part of the Yiwu Mountains

Planted in 2008, the year after the bubble burst of the pu'er market, these young 乔木 qiao mu “tall arbor” gardens stand as a testament to the forward thinking diligence of Xiongping "Cousin Xiao He"  despite difficult times. He took seeds from his ancient gardens and sowed them in the red soil of a semi-shaded ridgetop about a mile and a half from his home village. Each shrub has ample space, left unpruned, growing under dappled sun for the past 17 years.

Shade-grown teas tend to be softer, less bitter, and carry more smoother, soupier qualities with less bite. This comes from amino acids like L-theanine (the relaxing compound we taste as umami) not converting as quickly into catechins (responsible for brisk tannic texture) under lower sun exposure. Naturally shadier, forested ecosystems also foster greater biodiversity, giving sanctuary to animals that feed on insects—removing the need for pesticides so common in Yunnan’s monoculture plantations.

This is as fine an ecosystem as one could ask for tea, and the qualities it imparts to the cup can’t be overstated.