Verdant Tea

"Wudongshan is a special place.

The rocky soil, the mountain mist - even the angle of the sunlight all comes together as a gift: the finest growing region for single-tree dancong oolongs in the world.

I have spent my life honoring that gift. I pioneered commune tea farming in the 70’s, and in the 80’s my tea made history with an unprecedented tasting score of 99.8 at the Changsha National Tea Conference, putting Wudongshan on the map.

I have spent my life teaching three generations of tea farmers in Wudongshan the meticulous craft of oolong finishing so that every harvest honors the gift of this place. I invite you to taste the work I started and that my sons now continue - the rich minerality, the dance between intensity of texture, and voluptuousness of aroma that have defines a whole genre."

 

- Huang Ruiguang // 黄瑞光

Our Most Popular Teas

Tasting Master Huang Ruiguang’s Dancong Craft

This bundle includes six 25g bags of Dancong tea for 150g total (30 sessions). Huang Ruiguang is respected across China as one of the fathers of modern Dancong, written about in every text on the region, recognized as a cultural treasure by the local government, and awarded top medals for every tea he produces[...]

$99.45 $89.51

Our Home: Wudongshan

our Mi Lan Xiang Dancong in the spring
our tea grows as single, individual trees
  •  ● cool weather, wind and frigid mountain nights keep insects at bay naturally

  • ● single tree plantings establish deep root systems for complex tea and healthy ecosystems compared to traditional tea hedges

  • ● our family picks once a year and does not trim, water, spray or fertilize for zero-impact farming

  • ● our slope of Wudongshan gets the perfect angle of sunlight to prevent too much morning sun yielding a sweeter, slower-growing plant

  • ● our 30 mu plot is the finest land for Dancong in China, awarded to Huang Ruiguang for a lifetime of contributions to the community pioneering new oolong techniques

Our Family

 

Huang Ruiguang is one of the most important figures in modern Dancong history.

He is cited in most published histories and overviews of the region for his agricultural innovation and for his famously impeccable taste. In 1982, he brought his Dancong to the national tea conference and competition in Changsha and received a 99.8 – the highest score ever awarded to any tea in China at the time.

In 2012, Huang Ruiguang was declared a cultural treasure, and as a result of his work to raise up the region, he was awarded with 30 mu of the most perfectly situated land on Wudongshan.

Huang Ruiguang’s two sons continue his work as the active master craftsmen in the workshop and the fields, both Wei Ming and Zhen Ming already winning national tasting awards for their work.

Huang Ruiguang demonstrates his technique
Huang Ruiguang teaches and evaluates Dancong // file photo, courtesy of 中国凤凰茶:茶史茶事茶人

Our Teas and Craft

Ming Wei demonstrates the techniques he learned from his father, Huang Ruiguang
Ming Zhen works with fresh leaves to make black tea

If you listen, every tea tells its story.

You can taste the place, the weather, and the craft. When nature gifts us the perfection that we have here in Wudongshan, it is only right that we offer ourselves fully in gratitude for that gift. My sons and I live for tea. We work through the night using traditional oolong techniques, fluffing and working each leaf on bamboo trays by hand, not by machine.

Every batch has slightly different requirements, different motions needed to coax out the moisture from the leaf stems. Perfectly-finished tea is barely touched, but rather flipped and turned without exposing the leaf to pressure and heat. This takes a lifetime to master, but the reward is aromatic complexity that makes our Dancong famous.

We share our passion not just for our family, but for the whole region - to be leaders and pioneers, to be teachers, mentors and neighbors with the hope that all of Wudongshan continues our traditions for generations to come.

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