Thailand Wawee Before Qing Ming Gu Shu Raw Pu Erh 2022

Cultivar: Old Bush Da Ye Zhong/Camellia Assamica

Harvest: Before Qing Ming Spring 2022

Origin: Wa Wi/Wawee Village, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Cup: 1 tbsp/5g for 25 gong fu cha cups

Weight: 200g

Meet the farmer: Kasem (read about him and his tea plantation here)

Tasting Note

Crystal clean, mellow and smooth mouthfeel, buttery, a unique refreshing bamboo fragrance, with a potent Cha Qi, the aftertaste is very sweet with delicately but bold floral fragrance

Full Description

This is our most recommended wawee tea because drinking it makes you feel like walking in a wild forest at dawn. It's also the most unique and best raw Pu Erh we have encountered! In Kasem's about 50 acre tea tree forest, you can find a few different species due to natural mutation of tea trees. You can also find them growing facing different orientation or next to different vegetations. Teas that are made from different areas of his plantation could be subtly different. This tea is from one of the more particular areas in his plantation where trees grow by bamboos. 

Kasem is the second generation Thai Chinese from Wawee, and his father was one of the very first Chinese immigrants in the area that advocated for wild tea tree's protection. Old bush tea trees were once a common wild plant that grew in mountains here, but now has lost up to 50% of its population due to deforestation for farmlands. His father started with buying a small piece of land with wild tea trees 50 years ago and was able to piece the land together and passed this legacy to Kasem eventually. His tea plantation looks rather like a Pu Erh forest filled with wild old bushes that are about 500-800 years old. Without pesticide or fertilizer, his greatest challenge is how termites could eat up a tree over a period of time. When you drink his raw Pu Erh tea, especially the aged ones, there's a bold and strong Cha Qi in them. Unlike some of the Chinese raw Pu Erhs from Yun Nan that has a tobacco flavor because of pan frying or machine drying, his processing style is rather delicate and focus on keeping the tea's natural state. He only sun dries his teas.

This year, we are proud to present his teas and let them tell their own stories to you. This is a Before Qing Ming tea, meaning the leaves are from the earliest spring harvest from the beginning of March to the beginning of April (April 5th this year). Before Qing Ming harvest only picks the very first a few batches of new spring sprouts with more buds and young leaves.

*This particular teacake's cover design is a limited edition and is inspired by an event that we have encountered in Wawee during the sourcing trip. You can read about the details of our firsthand account experience here and this story is also featured in Fresh Cup Magazine*

Additional information on Wawee Village's history and geographic location

Wawee village also has a Chinese name, which is called Cha Fang Cun, and it means "Tea House Village". This region is mostly occupied by a local indigenous group called Aka and Chinese immigrants from the 50s and 60s, who were Kuomingtang (the National Party) and came from Yun Nan in horses by following the Ancient Tea Horse Road, then took refugees in northern Thailand. Nowadays, their descents are the 2nd and 3rd generation of Thai Chinese and either inherited the craftsmanship of making Pu Erh tea from their fathers or grandfathers, or acquired such skills through learning from tea masters in Taiwan or in Yun Nan later on. 

It is located in the heart of the Golden Triangle, close to the border of Myanmar, and it has a mix culture of Yun Nan, Thai and Myanmar. Local farmers tell the tale of the wild Pu Erh tea tree forest in this area in the past, and how they have lost up to 50% of them because of ignorance and other agricultural needs. Some families, such as Kasem's, understood the importance of protecting such tea trees early on and is still an active advocate in the village. 

Brewing Instruction Gaiwan & Teapot

	Gaiwan: 5 to 10 secs ceramic pot: 3 mins
	Add 5gram/1 tbsp
	95 C / 205 F

Top Health Benefits

• Strengthening teeth & preventing tooth decay.

• Lower blood sugar level & reduce high blood pressure.

• Aids weight loss by suppressing the synthesis of fatty acids, which helps to stop producing higher levels of fat.

For education purpose only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.