Lengshuihe 冷水河 tea garden became famous for a small group of ancient trees growing on a small flat piece of land nestled between hills, deep in the forest and close to the Laos border.The tea garden is named after the small river that flows through it and in subsequent years this name has also been used by villagers in Wangong’s LanTian and villagers in Laos who have trees near this small river. It is the Guafengzhai garden that is the reason this became famous and the area that is sought after by tea connoisseurs. The Laos and LanTian "LengShuiHe" teas that we've tried do not come close in quality.
The ancient trees here are very limited. The overwhelming majority of tea coming from here is from smaller trees which were more recently planted on the surrounding hills. The ancient tree garden was thought to be planted by a small group of families who inhabited this flat piece of land. Indeed, it's the perfect location - a small flat piece of land, fertile soil and protected from the elements by the surrounding hills.
In the present day, the ancient trees here are owned by two families and there are customers queuing to be able to get the fresh leaves from the ancient trees from here. We've been friends with a member of one of these families for the past 10 years and made a little tea from here in 2016. They agreed to sell us a small quantity this year again and we made a special production - selecting a few of the ancient trees to pick separately to ensure the quality of this pure ancient tree production.
The tea is thick, smooth and refined. It's super elegant, thickening and becoming richer throughout the infusions. The qi slowly creeps up on you and envelops the body and mind.
