Zheng He's geographical conditions for growing first-class tea could not be better. The unspoiled region is lined by a mountainous, river-rich landscape and is located far away from larger metropolises. The altitude varies between 800-1000m and is thus even a bit higher than that in neighboring Fuding. The resulting reduced sunlight and abundant rain have a positive effect on the thriving of the plants. They grow rather slowly and absorb a lot of minerals from the fertile soil. As a result, the plants become very rich in nutrients and develop a particularly intense flavor.
The tea farm itself is sheltered from the wind by the mountains of the regional Wuyi Gebrige and is located not far from the city of Sonxi. Sonxi can look back on more than 1000 years of tea history, and the cultural roots of the people of the region with the tea plant are correspondingly strong. Cultivation on the tea farm takes place without the use of pesticides, for the loosening and mineral enrichment of the healthy nutrient soil, the cows of the neighbors are led over the tea field at regular intervals.
The hand-picked leaves and buds for this tea come from the first harvest of the year, which usually begins at the end of March, beginning of April. Due to the unstable, rainy weather, the withering of the tea is done using what is known as mixed withering (Chinese: Fùshì wēidiāo 複式萎凋), in which the tea leaves are dried by constantly alternating between indoor and outdoor. The first night, leaves and buds are usually wilted indoors, protected from the weather, and then fresh air-dried the following day. The tea is distributed on stacked bamboo wood withering troughs, protected from aggressive sunlight and can wilt evenly. This process takes several days until the tea has reached the desired degree of maturity. Towards the end, all residual moisture is removed by gentle oven drying.
