In Yunnan, "100 years" and "1,000 years" are both common measurements.
This colorful, wild and mysterious "heaven-made" blessed land is a treasure trove of biodiversity and an ancient tea tree kingdom. As the origin of tea trees in the world, Yunnan is the province with the largest area of ancient tea plantations, the largest number of ancient tea trees and the richest germplasm species in the world.
In recent years, as the rarity and irreproducibility of ancient tea tree resources have attracted more and more attention from the world, the research on ancient tea trees has also increased day by day. To explore the mystery of ancient tea trees, the Iceland Village in Shuangjiang, Yunnan Province is one of the important landmarks. In the south of the colorful clouds, where heaven, earth, people and things are highly integrated, how can Iceland Laozhai present the "tea art" that condenses nature, humanity and time, and attract countless tea people?
△ Iceland Village (courtesy of Eight Horse Tea Industry)
Explore the ancient tea of Yunding
Why is the old village in Iceland the last?
According to public data, the total area of existing ancient tea tree resources in Yunnan is about 3,296,800 mu, of which about 2,657,500 mu are distributed among wild ancient tea trees and about 639,300 mu are distributed among cultivated ancient tea trees (gardens). This land full of "wildness" is pregnant with unimaginable and unique tea mountains and tea tastes.
Among them, the old village in Iceland is particularly unique. "Banzhang is the king, Iceland is the queen", which refers to the ancient Icelandic tea tree in Mengku, Shuangjiang, Yunnan. Over the years, the tea leaves in Iceland Laozhai and here can be described as the well-known "Taishan Beidou" in the Pu'er tea industry, and the "cinnabar mole" and "white moonlight" that thousands of tea people yearn for. Iceland's Laozhai can be called "after Pu'er", which is the result of its scarcity, special taste, market reputation and luck choice.
"Iceland Village is located between snow-capped mountains, with both light and mist, which can promote the natural growth of tea trees, and the wild tea tree communities found here are all around, so it must be a suitable place to grow tea. Just as Gong Zhengli, a professor of tea science at Southwest University and an expert at Yunnan Provincial Academician (Expert) Workstation, said, in the densely vegetated primeval jungle of Mengku Snow Mountain, there is a wild ancient tea tree community with the highest altitude, the widest area and the largest density found at home and abroad, and Iceland Laozhai is located in the core area of the ancient tea community.
△ Iceland Village (courtesy of Eight Horse Tea Industry)
Blessed by the snow-capped mountains of Mengku, Icelandic Laozhai gathers an amazing number of ancient tea tree communities, and grows the Icelandic Laozhai tea tree king with an age of more than 500 years. Further research into the roots of Iceland's legend is inseparable from the ancient tea trees that grew here.
Through a hundred years of time
Step into the "Past and Present" of the Icelandic Tea Tree King
The growth of a tea tree records the changes of a piece of land. The ancient tea tree, which is 100 years old and 1,000 years old, has already become a witness to a piece of history. And the story of the tea tree king in Iceland has to start from more than 500 years ago.
Gong Zhengli recounted, "It is well documented that in 1485, Mengmeng Tusi Hanting sent people to Yiwu to carefully select more than 200 tea tree seeds to Iceland to cultivate tea seedlings in this land suitable for tea growth. "More than 500 years ago, the first generation of tea seeds was planted, and more than 150 tea trees were eventually cultivated, which is the origin of the legend of the ancient tea tree in Iceland. Hundreds of years have passed in a flash, and the Icelandic mother tree has continued to bloom and bear fruit from generation to generation, achieving the ancient tea tree resources enriched by Iceland's old village.
△Gong Zhengli, professor of tea science at Southwest University and expert of Yunnan Provincial Academician (Expert) Workstation, exchanged the history of Laozhai tea in Iceland with Jiao Yang, the brand recommendation officer of Bama Tea Industry (Photo courtesy of Bama Tea Industry)
At the beginning of the 21st century, the prosperity of the Pu'er market and the rise of the concept of "mountain tea" made tea people in the industry begin to search for famous mountains and dig for good tea. To make Pu'er tea, Menghai large-leaf species, Mengku large-leaf species and Fengqing large-leaf species, three large-leaf tea trees are the main force. The national excellent tea variety Mengku large-leaf species originated in the old village of Iceland. The long evolution of hundreds of years has created a distinctive Icelandic taste of "sweet rhyme of rock sugar, fragrant flowers and fruits", which is unforgettable, and has become a rare celebrity tea area in the Pu'er tea industry. Nowadays, the Tea Tree King and the surrounding ancient tea tree communities have become the "Tree of Prosperity" in the mountains, driving the Icelandic people to start a better life.
After more than 500 years of tempering, the Icelandic Laozhai Tea Tree King has long been a unique and irreproducible rare ancient tea tree resource. In recent years, the protection and development of the king of tea trees and ancient trees in Iceland has attracted more and more attention from the world. Leading the protective mining of ancient tea trees, Bama Xinji has mastered the picking rights of Laobanzhang Tea King Tree and Tea Queen for 4 consecutive years, and has mastered the picking right of Wuzhai Tea King Tree in Iceland for 5 consecutive years, exploring a new path for the development of ancient tea trees in the new era with an innovative and sustainable vision.
△ Lao Banzhang Tea King Tree, Tea Queen (Photo courtesy of Eight Horse Tea Industry)
△ Iceland Tea King (courtesy of Eight Horse Tea Industry)
Guarding the "Three Pearls" of Pu'er Tea
Spare no effort to temper a good cup of tea
Pu'er tea is the art of the intersection of region, time and humanity, full of wild primitive ecology precipitation for the unique flavor of Pu'er tea, the passage of time has achieved the world's unique taste aesthetic system of Pu'er, the high degree of integration of the original village tea and people and the tea-making skills passed down from generation to generation once again add brilliant colors to Pu'er tea. "The right time and place" have created the legend of the tea king tree in Iceland, and "Renhe" has brought this legendary taste into the world's cup.
In order to strengthen the protection of ancient tea tree resources, Bama Tea Industry has made all-round efforts in tea culture, tea industry, and tea technology, and through in-depth cooperation with the team of academicians and experts, it has gradually standardized the protection and development model of ancient tea trees, led the industry to "two picks and three stays" of the ancient tea tree protective picking model, and interpreted the responsibility and responsibility of the "ancient tea tree guardian" with practical actions.
△ Gong Zhengli, professor of tea science at Southwest University and expert of Yunnan Provincial Academician (Expert) Workstation, discussed the production process of a good cup of tea with Jiao Yang, the brand recommendation officer of Bama Tea Industry (Photo courtesy of Bama Tea Industry)
To rejuvenate the ancient tea tree, the key word lies in "protection", but it cannot stop at protection. Gong Zhengli said, "It is my dream as a tea professional to make our ancient tea tree resources better exert its value, truly let the world respect Chinese tea, and let everyone like Pu'er tea." "Carry forward in the protection and make more scientific and reasonable use of ancient tea tree resources, which is also the direction of the Eight Horse Tea Industry.
Only by breaking the "glass cover", adapting to the innovative development methods of the times, and connecting the ancient tea tree with the public, can the century-old tea tree king stay young and stay in the change and further exert its value. Adhering to the original mission of the century-old tea family, Bama Tea Industry has unremittingly explored new solutions for the balance between the economic benefits and ecological protection of ancient tea trees, and has not only won the picking rights of the Laobanzhang Tea King Tree, the Tea Queen, and the Wuzhai Tea King Tree in Iceland for many years, but also comprehensively laid out the high-quality and scarce resources of the ancient tea forest in Jingmai Mountain, and mastered the "Three Pearls of Pu'er Tea" in Laobanzhang, Iceland and Jingmai Mountain.
As a time-honored tea enterprise in China, Bama Tea Industry continues to present the characteristics of good tea from the origin of major well-known mountains in Yunnan through the excavation of resources and the deep cultivation of brands, and creates "ceiling" level Pu'er tea for the market.
△ Gong Zhengli, professor of tea science at Southwest University and expert of Yunnan Provincial Academician (Expert) Workstation, tastes tea with Jiao Yang, brand recommendation officer of Bama Tea Industry (Photo courtesy of Bama Tea Industry)
The belief of tempering a good cup of tea at any time has, to a certain extent, also allowed the Eight Horse Tea Industry to enter the unique field of ancient tea trees, and the rhythm of tree growth at the same frequency. From the immature tea seedlings to the rugged ancient trees, we will not hesitate to invest in a hundred years of time, at any cost, and wait for the birth of a good cup of tea with perseverance and dedication, and continue to send this rare taste to more tea lovers' cups, and this persistence is unswerving.
Editor-in-charge / Shi Tongtong
Editorial Board Member / Wang Miaorong