Tulou Laocha (Old Yellow Tea)

50 g

It is an unusual yellow tea through 9 years of ageing in Tulou granary! It appears soft yellow. Steeping in water for half a minute, the tea turns light brown. The tea tastes mellow and smooth with a scent of sweet flowery fragrance.

The Chinese name “Tulou Laocha” means “mud building old tea”. Tulou mud buildings can be found nestling in the mountains of Zhangzhou district, southern Fujian.

The tea comes from the mountains behind the Tulou. It is made from spring tea buds, plucked once a year in early March. The tender spring buds and leaves are first laid on bamboo mats for drying in the sun; then are slightly baked over a charcoal fire. After that, the tea is collected in cotton bags and laid amongst the piles of grain in a Tulou granary. The grain acts as insulation to keep the temperature of the tea constant. The tea rests in the granary for seven to nine years, hence comes to the term “laocha” – old tea.