On May 11, our store manager was near Cingjing Farm, where tea gardens around 1,700 meters in elevation, including Songgang and Meifeng, were harvesting.
We tasted a few tea samples numbered 7 through 10 that day, and the quality was fantastic. However, since the manager had already found even better teas at the same elevation in Cuiluan and Malieba, we decided not to purchase them. This time, our goal is high-elevation tea gardens around 1,900 meters.
After checking out a few high-elevation tea gardens, the tea leaves looked exceptionally good—virtually a “guaranteed masterclass in super-grade tea”—which really got the manager excited.
We initially expected heavy harvesting on the 13th and 14th, but unexpectedly, it started raining on the 12th. The rain intensified on the 13th and continued all the way until the 17th. When we headed back up the mountain on the 18th, those high-elevation tea gardens from a few days prior were already “overgrown and bloomed,” and you could tell at a glance the flavor wouldn’t be anything special.
Now our only hope rests on the “ultra-high-elevation tea” above 1,950 meters. The tenderness of the tea leaves looks pretty good, and with clear weather on the 18th, 19th, and 20th, there’s still a chance for some great tea. Wish the manager good luck in finding some amazing tea!
Note 1: We couldn’t find suitable tea in the Songgang tea area, so we’ve confirmed we won’t be stocking this year’s spring tea from there.
Note 2: We purchased a batch of Meifeng tea harvested on the 19th, grown at an elevation of 2,000 to 2,080 meters. It’s from Meifeng’s highest-elevation tea garden, featuring just the right tenderness and harvested after consecutive sunny days. The quality didn’t disappoint. It’s currently at the packaging house and will be listed in the next couple of days.
