The Wuyi Shan Mountains in the northwest of Fujian Province are considered among China's most renowned traditional tea-growing regions. Only about 20,000 people live in the secluded area, which roughly equivalent to the size of Edinburgh. Rugged mountain ranges with dense forests and wild rivers provide the backdrop for these unique tea-growing conditions. In bygone times, the mountains were a retreat for hermits and Taoist and Buddhist monks. During the Sung Dynasty, however, people began to settle in the remote mountain region. Since that time, tea has also been cultivated here, on the rocks, in the valleys, and on the hills all around.
With its rocky landscape, the terroir offers excellent growing conditions for tea. The rainwater absorbs a large amount of minerals from the rocks and the limestone canyons. Over time, residents developed a natural drainage system, which has enriched the soil enormously over the years, allowing the tea plants in the narrow valleys and on the slopes to absorb a great deal of these minerals.
The Wuyi region is widely known for its oolongs, especially the famous "rock tea". White tea from Wuyi is much rarer, typically known only to connoisseurs, but it benefits to an equal degree from the exceptional local environment, which is reflected in its fine, mineral sweetness, similar to that of oolong rock teas. Through several years of careful maturing, the tea develops even stronger aromas and now exhibits an inimitable complexity that only high-quality, matured white teas can offer. These tea leaves have been maturing in the farm in Fuding, undisturbed, under the best possible conditions since 2017.
The production of the tea follows the traditional white tea cultivation process in China. After the buds and leaves have been hand-harvested, the tea leaves are dried by means of mixed withering (Chinese: Fùshì wēidiāo 複式萎凋), which involves drying the tea leaves alternately indoors and outdoors. On the first night, the leaves are usually wilted indoors, protected from the weather, and then freshly air-dried the following day. The tea is spread out on bamboo troughs, layered on top of each other to protect the leaves from aggressive sunlight and to allow it to wilt evenly. This process takes several days before the tea has reached the desired degree of ripeness. At the end, all residual moisture is removed by gentle oven drying. Afterwards, the leaves are matured in a protected environment for several years.
