We often face a difficult decision when it comes to older teas at this price point. Do they truly offer value? Do they deliver something unique enough to justify the cost? With this tea, we debated for quite some time, first tasting it a couple of years ago. It was a tea that stuck in our memory as something exceptional, and we ultimately felt compelled to snap up the last few remaining cakes. While not inexpensive, we felt it was something we should offer: this is about as good as Yiwu Guoyoulin tea of this period gets.
The producer, a Jinghong native who entered the pu’erh business in the 90s, has spent decades exploring the tea mountains and crafting small, high-quality productions. This is exceptionally pure ancient tree material from Yiwu’s Wangong area, gathered just as people were beginning to explore and collect tea from the deeper forests. The tea carries a vibrancy and richness from a time before harvesting these trees began in earnest. It was pressed in small pressing studio and used that company's standard wrapper as was common at that time for small productions. Since Wangong was little known then and they didn't have another stamp available, he casually stamped the wrapper with Mansa - the broader region.
Storage has been impeccable - classic Jinghong conditions with natural heat and humidity that have allowed the tea to mature gracefully while preserving the subtleties of its base material. The greenness has faded, transformed into layered, toffee-like sweetness that coats the mouth and throat, leaving a lingering, elegant finish on the palate. Thick, concentrated, and remarkably smooth, it evolves beautifully throughout the session, offering both comfort and depth.
This is an exceptional tea - a rare glimpse of Yiwu’s past, before its ancient forest trees became regularly harvested.
