Special Release Limited Set of Ancient White Tea from 5 Gardens | HOJO Online Speciality Tea Shop

The ancient white tea is a very popular tea in our store. We produced this tea in spring. Following production, it was stored in an oxygen-free environment for several months to further enhance its flavor, achieving the expected maturation.

The production of ancient tree white tea is limited in quantity per day, resulting in small batches from each tea garden. Therefore, we process raw materials from multiple tea gardens sequentially over approximately ten days. We blend these multiple batches before releasing them as Ancient White Tea. However, due to the distinctive characteristics of each tea garden, we have decided to introduce tasting sets for each tea garden before blending, enabling customers to experience and compare their unique flavors.

A vibrant green ancient tree white tea from Yunnan Province, which is uncommon in China.

We collaborate with a family of tea producer who owns numerous ancient tea gardens in a village situated in the southwestern part of Lincang, at an elevation of approximately 2000 meters. Originally, they were tea farmers responsible for tending to the ancient tea garden inherited from their ancestors. In the past, they used to harvest fresh tea leaves and sell them as raw materials to a tea factory. In 2018, while we were sourcing natural farming tea gardens, we encountered them in their village.
We have provided them with comprehensive education, encompassing aspects such as facility design, tea processing methods, and management practices. Subsequently, they began entrusting us with the production of white tea.

What we emphasize is not the typical brownish white tea found in Yunnan Province but rather the production of white tea with a fresh green hue. This white tea is crafted from the leaves of centuries-old naturally grown ancient tea trees situated at elevations ranging from 2000 to 2300 meters. White tea, meticulously managed and cultivated in this manner, is not only a rarity in Yunnan Province but also a highly unusual tea variety throughout China as a whole.

The characteristics of tea vary from one tea garden to another

The tea gardens in Yunnan Province can be described as “tea mountains.” Unlike the well-organized tea fields in Japan or Taiwan, there you’ll find small tea gardens scattered along the slopes of the mountains, consisting of anywhere from a few to several dozen tea trees. Some of these gardens are located as far as 5 kilometers from the nearest homes, requiring access by foot, making the journey to and from the tea gardens quite an exercise in itself.

Small tea gardens, consisting of ancient tea trees like those in the photos, are scattered throughout the mountains.

The small tea gardens are scattered throughout the mountains. Due to this unique growing environment, even within tea gardens owned by the same producer, differences in factors such as sunlight, the age of tea trees, soil quality, and more exist because they are scattered throughout the mountains. These variations contribute to the diverse characteristics of the tea.

Before blending, we are offering limited sales of tasting sets for each tea garden

Our tea producer processes tea on a per-tea-garden basis, and teas harvested on different days are managed as separate lots. Even when importing to Japan and Malaysia, each lot is imported individually, without blending. The reason for this is that sometimes there are minor lots with subtle differences in quality due to unforeseen rainy weather during the process, so if they are all mixed on-site, there is a risk of blending problematic batches.

At our store, after importing tea, we conduct quality assessments for each lot, and only those lots that meet our quality standards are blended and processed into ancient tree white tea.
White tea, due to its simple processing method, allows the distinct characteristics of the raw materials to shine through. Factors like the elevation of the tea garden, soil composition, sunlight exposure, and the age of the tea trees all contribute to the diversification of aroma and flavor profiles, even within the same category of ancient tree white tea. Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if there are ten varieties of white tea, there are ten unique aromatic profiles. Tasting white teas produced from different tea gardens is genuinely an exciting experience. With the desire to share this excitement, we have decided to offer small tasting sets, organized by tea garden, before blending each lot.

White tea that changes when infused with water

HOJO’s white tea is made using no heat during its processing. Consequently, unlike other types of tea such as green tea, black tea, oolong tea, or pu-erh tea, the enzymes within the tea leaves are preserved in their active state. This is why when you steep the tea in hot water, the enzymes are activated during the brewing process, causing a slight fermentation.

Conversely, by cold brewing the tea, you can enjoy a completely different aroma compared to white tea steeped in hot water because it’s less likely for the enzymes to activate. As we continue to experience warm days, we encourage you to try cold brewing. Cold brewing ancient tree white tea offers a refreshing taste, almost like “tea juice.” Additionally, if you brew it stronger and then dilute it with hot water, you can enjoy the aroma from cold brewing while still having a hot cup of tea.

White tea is suitable for long-term storage.

Our Ancient White Tea is vacuum-sealed (oxygen-free environment), so its freshness will remain even if stored at room temperature for several years to several decades. However, white tea undergoes maturation over time when stored for an extended period. With long-term storage, it develops a sweet aroma reminiscent of honey or dried fruits.

Limited set of 5 packs of Ancient Tree White Tea from five different tea gardens

Tea comes in five different types, each with its own distinct flavor.
In addition, exclusively at our Malaysia store, we will also be introducing the Bai Mu Dan 5-tea garden tasting set, alongside the Ancient White Tea 5-tea garden tasting set.

Due to limited stock availability, we will be offering a limited quantity for sale. Once the planned quantity is sold out, it will be considered as “out of stock.” We encourage those who are interested to make a prompt purchase.

How to purchase?

For international inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email at info2@hojotea.com. The price for this product in Japan is JPY8000/ 50g x 5 bags.

If you’re located in Malaysia, Brunei, or Singapore, you can visit our online shop using the following URL.
https://shop.hojotea.com.my/collections/white-tea