One Mountain, One Tea

Some Songdehao products come from ancient tree gardens, mainly in Jinggu, Menghai (Bulang), and Lincang (Mangfei) tea regions of Yunnan. Ancient tree tea refers to trees over 100 years old with deep roots and rich contents. Product pages specify origin and tree age information.

Yunnan white tea uses large-leaf variety fresh leaves, while Fujian white tea uses small-leaf variety. Large-leaf white tea has plumper buds, denser white down, richer flavor, and stronger aftertaste. Both use primarily withering and drying processes, but the different raw materials create distinct flavor profiles.

Raw pu-erh (sheng) is made from sun-dried maocha pressed directly without pile fermentation. The liquor is yellowish-green, taste is brisk with strong aftertaste, and it ages over time. Ripe pu-erh (shou) undergoes pile fermentation (50-55°C, 25-45 days), producing dark red liquor with mellow, smooth taste that's ready to drink immediately.

Yes, white tea is excellent for cold brewing. Recommended ratio is 1:100 (1g tea per 100ml water). Refrigerate 4-6 hours or steep at room temperature 2-4 hours. Dragon pearls are especially convenient for cold brewing - one pearl per serving. Cold-brewed white tea is sweet with less caffeine extraction.

Songdehao tea ships directly from source tea mountains in Yunnan, eliminating middlemen. Main producing areas include Jinggu (white tea), Menghai Bulang Mountain and Jingmai Mountain (raw pu-erh), and Lincang Mangfei (ancient tree tea).

Store pu-erh tea in a ventilated, dark, dry place away from odors. Ideal temperature is 20-30°C with 60-70% relative humidity. Store raw and ripe pu-erh separately to prevent flavor crossover. Keep cakes in their original cotton wrapper, stored upright in a ventilated area.

White tea is often described as "one year tea, three years aged, seven years treasure." Fresh white tea is sweet and refreshing. As it ages, aromas shift from floral to jujube and herbal, the liquor deepens, and taste becomes more mellow. Songdehao's white tea from Jinggu ancient large-leaf trees has excellent aging potential.

Beginners should start with entry-level products: White Tea Dragon Pearl (portable) or Premium White Tea Loose 2022 (great value); Ripe Pu-erh Jiajing 2014 (12-year aged, approachable) or 5g Bagged Ripe Tea; First-grade Honey Gold Black Tea (sweet and approachable). Add our WeChat for personalized recommendations.

Ancient tree tea comes from trees over 100 years old with deeper roots absorbing more minerals, lower yield (a few kg per tree annually), richer contents with complex flavor, and natural cultivation without chemicals. Songdehao's ancient tree tea comes from core areas including Jinggu, Bulang, Jingmai, and Mangfei.

For business gifts: signature-grade like Yiwu Raw Pu-erh 2014 or Jingmai Ripe 2010. For elders: Aged White Tea Cake (warming, herbal aromas) or Premium White Tea 2020. For casual gifts: White Tea Dragon Pearl (portable, elegant) or Premium Honey Gold Black Tea. Contact WeChat for custom gift boxes.

According to the national standard GB/T 30766 (Tea Classification), tea is classified into six types by processing method and oxidation level: Green tea (unoxidized, pan-fired to retain green color), White tea (minimally oxidized, withering and drying only), Yellow tea (lightly oxidized, sealed for yellowing), Oolong tea (semi-oxidized, withering and rocking develop floral aromas), Black tea (fully oxidized, polyphenols form red liquor), and Dark tea (post-fermented, microbial pile fermentation). Oxidation increases from green to dark, with flavors progressing from fresh to rich and mellow.

White tea has the simplest process: withering and drying. Leaves naturally lose moisture during withering with slight oxidation, then drying fixes the quality. No frying or rolling. Green tea adds a kill-green (shaqing) step using high heat to destroy enzymes and prevent oxidation, preserving green color and fresh flavor. Green tea is high-heat freshness locking; white tea is natural slow maturation.

Traditional white tea (Silver Needle, White Peony) undergoes only withering and drying with no frying or rolling, producing naturally shaped leaves with a clean sweet taste. New-process white tea, created in 1968, adds light rolling and high-temperature baking for semi-curled leaves, stronger flavor, and orange-red liquor. Yunnan large-leaf white tea is new-process, with richer flavor from the large-leaf varietal.

Sourness in black tea usually relates to fermentation. If fermentation goes too long or temperatures are too high, organic acids accumulate creating sourness. Insufficient withering can also cause it. A mild sweet-sour note is normal aftertaste, but pronounced sourness is a processing defect. Brewing above 95C or over-steeping amplifies acidity. Try 85-90C water.

The core process for ripe pu-erh is pile fermentation (wo-dui). Sun-dried green tea is moistened (23-30% water), piled 1 meter high, and fermented at 50-55C for 25-45 days. Microorganisms, heat-moisture action, and enzymatic reactions transform polyphenols, changing liquor from yellow-green to deep red and taste from bitter to smooth and mellow.

Kill-green (shaqing) is critical for green, yellow, and dark teas. High heat (pan-firing at 200C or steaming) rapidly destroys enzymes to prevent polyphenol oxidation. This locks in green color and fresh aroma. The principle: high temperature first then lower, tender leaves need harder firing, older leaves need gentler firing. Insufficient kill-green leaves grassy taste; over-firing causes bitterness.

Zuoxing is the core oolong process, alternating between rocking (yaoqing) and resting 3-7 times. Rocking causes leaf edges to break, triggering oxidation that turns edges red (green leaf with red border). During rest, moisture and aromatics move from stems to leaves (water walking), developing floral and fruity aromas. Wuyi rock tea uses heavy rocking, Tieguanyin light rocking, Phoenix Dancong rocks 5-7 times.