Fourth Chapter, first season
Bulang 布朗
Ancestral wilderness, origin of the mythical taste
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In our last chapter we explored what are called the six ancient mountains: ancient, because they reached the royal court and were codified earlier that the mountains west of the Mekong river, where pu'er tea was originated, surrounded by a mystic wilderness that continue until today.
We explore the valleys and villages of Bulang mountain, talking about some of the most resonant words in the pu’er world: the people of “Pu” ethnic minority, prominent villages such as Laobanzhang and Laoman’e, and an incredible variety of tastes in a single area.
With our journey we get closer and closer to the modern border between China and Myanmar, in a crossroad of ethnic minorities, ancient cultures, temples, and contemporaneity of a unique charm.
Early history
According to Han literature, the ancestors of the Bulang people first settled here in the 1st century AD (Eastern Han Dynasty). The first tea leaf consumed by humans was picked by the ancestors of local residents.
"Pu people" were a branch of Baipu in the pre-Qin period, called Pu in the Han and Jin Dynasties, Puzi Man in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and Pu Man in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. In history, the Baipu people once migrated south and established a great civilization represented by Angkor Wat in the Indochina Peninsula. In contrast to these ancestors who went abroad, the Bulang, Deang and other ethnic groups who stayed in the country, were still living in the dense forest until the Republic of China.
The Bulang people have lived in Bulang Mountain for generations. They are one of the earliest ethnic groups in the world to cultivate, make and drink tea, and are the source of the world's tea culture.
modern history
The Bulang people have been good at growing and making tea since ancient times, but their tea-making technology in recent centuries was relatively backward and mainly handmade, and has not formed an industrial scale. The Bulang and Deang people still regard tea as a sacred treasure and use it for sacrifices but also weddings and funerals. There are still traditional methods to make loose tea, bamboo tube tea and sour tea. The production of Shuangjiang Bulang rice tea, Mingzi tea and bamboo tube honey tea is also well-known locally.
After the founding of New China, the state promoted mechanical processing technology, and many tea-growing areas established tea primary processing plants, developed some tea processing enterprises, promoted industrial management, and large tea processing enterprises such as Menghai Tea Factory emerged.
Entering the 21st century, with the rise of Pu'er tea in the country, ecological tea planting has become an important industry for the Bulang people in Bulang Mountain. After 2004, the price of tea in Bulang Mountain rose and became the main industry for farmers to get rid of poverty. In 2008, the township had a total tea area of 28,005 mu, a production of 4,649 kilograms, and a tea industry income of more than 10 million yuan.
The origin of tea culture
The residents of Bulang Mountain are the native indigenous people of Yunnan and the true roots of Yunnan people. Bulang people worship nature, and each village has a village center, which means that the village is protected by the village center god. People worship the big trees that resist storms and protect villagers, as well as the fire that brings light, warmth and can cook food. On the walls of the village center and the surrounding walls, there are also paintings of bamboo rats and toads that are regarded as totems.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this thousand-years isolation and seclusion that the people of Bulang mountain can be closely connected with nature. Here, they eat hundreds of herbs and taste hundreds of flavours, and collect countless gifts from nature into their own cups. The treasures all over the mountain are transformed into nutrition for strengthening the body. Among them, tea is the first to be domesticated, planted and enjoyed by the Bulang mountain people.
Tea is pronounced "La" (La) in the Bulang language. According to different situations, it can refer to tea leaves, tea trees, tea seedlings, etc. Regardless of any scene, the speaker can quickly understand its meaning in the field where he is.
Geography and villages
The Bulang mountain people who have lived here for generations - Bulang, Wa, and Deang - built villages in the vast mountains and lived together as a clan.
Bulang Mountain is one of the areas with the most preserved ancient tea gardens today.
Villages or areas: Eastern region: Lao Man'e, Lao Banzhang, Xin Banzhang, Bakalong, Bakanan; Southern region: Padian, Mannuo, Mengmao; Southwest region: Manxinlong, Manbie, Mannan Laozhai; Northwest region: Jiliang, as well as Bangpen Laozhai and Bangpen Xinzhai belonging to the Hekai Village Committee.
The Bulang people's crops are mainly rice, dry rice, corn, buckwheat, beans, vegetables, etc.; the main cash crops are tea, including rubber, sugarcane, cotton, Yunma, lac, etc.
The area
The Bulang Township of Bulang Mountain is located in the southeast of Menghai County, 99°56′-100°41′ east longitude, 21°28′-22°28′ north latitude, with an average annual rainfall of 1300-1500 mm and an average annual temperature of 18℃-21℃. Bulang Mountain is located in the middle mountainous area with an absolute altitude of 1000-2200 meters, and a relative height difference of 500-1000 meters, forming a three-dimensional climate of "four seasons in one mountain, different weather in ten miles".
The soil is deep, breathable and fertile; it is slightly acidic, with a pH value of 4.4-6.5. These unique natural conditions have made the tea of Bulang Mountain a legend in Pu'er tea. There are about 13,380 mu of ancient tea gardens in Bulang Mountain, including: Banzhang Ancient Tea Garden (including Laobanzhang, Xinbanzhang, Laoman'e, Bakayin and Bakatong), Mengmao Ancient Tea Garden, Xintong Ancient Tea Garden, Jiliang Ancient Tea Garden and Manyin Ancient Tea Garden. The tea gardens are distributed in blocks and have two tea varieties: Pu'er tea (Camellia assamica) and bitter tea variety (mella assamica var kucha).
This chapter's teas
Guangbie village 广别,
Laobanzhang cultivar trees 老班章茶树种
Guangbie laozhai Shengpu 广别老寨生普
Laobanzhang shengpu 老班章生普
Laomane Shengpu 老曼峨 生普
Laomane Shupu 老曼峨熟普
Hekai Shengpu 贺开生普
Jiliang Shengpu 吉良 生普
Bakanan Shengpu 坝卡囡 生普
Zhangjia, Sandui 章家三队 Shupu
Tasting notes
The overall tea nature of Bulang Mountain tea is masculine, with pure and thick aroma, strong taste, strong salivation, and lasting sweetness.
The basic characteristics are "sweet in the east, fragrant in the west, bitter in the south, and soft in the north".
阮福《普洱茶记》:"普洱茶名遍天下,味最酽,京师尤重之"
Ruan Fu's "Pu'er Tea Notes":
Pu'er tea is famous all over the world, with the strongest taste, and is especially valued in the capital.
Trees
An ecological tea plantation is a former intensive plantation that was recovered in 5-8 years toward a forest environment.
A forest plantation is a semi-wild tea garden where the tea trees grow freely in the under-forest.
An ancient tree is an older tea tree aged 200-500 years (officially is above 100 years of age) that grows in the under-forest.
How to brew
We suggest to brew these pu'er shengpu teas in gaiwan or Yixing teapot, with a ratio of 1 gr. of tea every 20 ml of water.
Use quick infusions with boiling water starting from 10-15 seconds, increasing with each new brew as needed.
Each tea can be brewed 10-12 times.
We remind that gong brewing is purely subjective, and the parameters should be adapted to your vessels and personal taste.
Teas and villages
Laobanzhang 老班章
1600-1900 meters above sea level
Laobanzhang is located in the southeast of Menghai County. The ancient tea garden covers an area of about 4,500 mu. The tea trees are mainly large-leaf varieties of Brown Mountain, with an average tree age of about 300 years and an average annual temperature of 18.7℃. The soil in Laobanzhang Village is mostly red soil and brick red soil, with a pH value of about 4.73 and fertile land.
In the Pu'er tea industry, Laobanzhang is known for its dominance and has been crowned by the tea industry a long time ago. The aging and fragrance of Pu'er tea are very well performed in Laobanzhang. In more than ten years, the price of Laobanzhang's "cabbage" (Banzhang organic cake tea produced by Menghai Tea Factory around 2000) has risen from tens of yuan per piece to tens of thousands of yuan per piece, making Laobanzhang a legend. The cash flow of Laobanzhang in the spring tea season has already exceeded 100 million yuan, and the average price of the first spring tea is more than 10,000 yuan per kilogram.
The word "Banzhang" comes from Dai language. The locals pronounce it closer to "Ba Zang" in Chinese. Later, the Hani people who migrated to Banzhang continued to use this name, but according to the pronunciation habits of Hani language, they read "Ba Zang" as "Banzhang". There are four explanations for the meaning of the word "Banzhang": one is "osmanthus tree shack", "Ban" means "shack", "Zhang" means "osmanthus tree"; the second is "the place where the osmanthus fragrance is floating"; the third is "the place where fish can be raised"; the fourth is "mountain".
As the "king of Pu'er tea", the dry tea of Lao Banzhang has a fat appearance, dark green and oily, and the tea is full of tea flavor. It is bitter and sweet, and it is soft and hard, with endless aftertaste.
Laoman'e 老曼峨
1300~1650 meters above sea level
Lao Man'e is located in the center of the Bulang Mountain. It is the largest and oldest village in the entire Bulang Mountain. There are a wide variety of plant diversity resources, dense primeval forests, an average annual temperature of 18-21℃, an annual precipitation of 1,374 mm, and high temperature and humidity all year round.
According to the Dai language, "Man" means "village", "E" means reed, and "Man'e" means "reed village". The Bulang people have lived here for generations. The village stone tablet records a history of more than 1,400 years, and the history of tea planting has been more than 900 years. The ancient tea garden left by the ancient Pu people is about 3,200 acres, and the age of the trees is between 100 and 500 years.
The taste of Lao Man'e's tea has its own unique characteristics, namely bitter tea and sweet tea, which is also an important symbol of the village in the current tea field. It is difficult to distinguish the two by appearance alone, and the villagers distinguish them by tasting. The people of Lao Man'e also use the characteristics of "bitter" and "sweet" to promote their tea to outsiders, "bitter and sweet, bitter first and sweet later".
Guangbie 广别
1600~1800 meters above sea level
Guangbie Laozhai grows in the deep mountains, located between Laobanzhang and Hekai. The annual average temperature is 17.6℃, the annual precipitation is 1329.6mm, and it is surrounded by clouds and mist. It is one of the best preserved and largest ancient tea mountains in Xishuangbanna Prefecture.
Guangbie Laozhai means "living in a special magical place" in the Hani language, and the Dai translation is "the village under the pine forest mountain". In the Guangbie Laozhai tea mountain, there is an 800-year-old ancient tea tree, which is about 8.5-9 meters tall, and the depth of the root system in the soil is 8.5-9 meters.
Guangbie Laozhai and Manmai Laozhai belong to the Hekai tea area, but the geographical location is closer to Bulang Mountain, and it is also classified as the Bulang Mountain tea area.
The Bulang tea has a heavy taste, but Guangbie is an exception. Compared with Manmai Laozhai, Guangbie has a stronger taste. Compared with Laobanzhang, Guangbie tea is softer. The tea soup of Guangbie Laozhai is sweet. When brewed, the soup is bright yellow in color, with a strong and rich aroma, mainly honey fragrance, supplemented by floral fragrance. It has a strong tea aroma, a mellow and refreshing taste, slightly bitter, and dissolves quickly. It has a strong rock sugar flavor and goes deep into the throat, producing a noticeable saliva-producing effect.
贺开 Hekai
1400-1700 meters above sea level
Hekai Tea Mountain is located on the northern edge of Bulang Mountain. It consists of ancient tea gardens in Guanggang, Manmai, Mannong, Banpen, Guangbie and other villages. It is connected to Pasha Tea Mountain in the northeast, Banpen Ancient Tea Garden in the south is connected to Laobanzhang Ancient Tea Garden, and Guangbie Ancient Tea Garden in the west is connected to Xinbanzhang Ancient Tea Garden. Hekai Tea Mountain has dense vegetation, many parasitic plants on tea trees, an average annual temperature of 18-19℃, and an annual precipitation of 1570-1900 mm. The soil is mainly yellow-brown soil and yellow sorghum.
Hekai Ancient Tea Garden is mainly distributed in the three Lahu villages of Manmai Laozhai, Mannong Laozhai and Mannong Xinzhai under the Hekai Village Committee. There are about 7,240 acres of ancient tea gardens, all of which are pure Pu'er tea varieties. Ancient tea trees grow in the natural ecological environment with lush trees in front of and behind the villagers' houses and connected to the mountain village, forming an ancient tea garden landscape of harmony between man and nature, "tea in the forest, village in the tea garden". The overall characteristics of Hekai Mountain Tea are: the tea leaves are black, bright, tight and slightly long, the soup is golden and bright, the tea soup is full, slightly bitter, the bitterness turns to sweet quickly, and the mountain charm is obvious.
坝卡囡 Bakanan
1,650 ca. meters above sea level
Bakanan is under the Banzhang Village Committee and is a Lahu village. The local altitude is about 1,650 meters, the annual average temperature is 18-21 degrees, and the annual precipitation is 1,370 mm.
"Bakanan" is a Dai place name, "Ba" means dam, "Ka" means desolate, and "Nan" means small, Bakanan means "desolate small dam". Bakanan has 24,587 acres of forest land, of which the ancient tea garden occupies more than 1,000 acres, but the distance between the ancient tea trees is large, and the number of trees has not been counted, and the age of the trees is mostly over 200 years old.
The shape of the tea tree is not much different from that of Banzhang, and the tea belongs to the sweet tea of the Bulang tea system. It has a lighter bitterness and a sweeter taste in Wuzhai.
The taste is between Lao Man'e and Lao Banzhang, with the aroma and sweetness of Lao Banzhang, and the bitterness is lower than Lao Man'e. The aroma is elegant, the taste is sweet and smooth, and the body saliva is obviously produced.
吉良 Jiliang
1,300-1,350 meters above sea level
Jiliang Village is located in the northwest of Bulangshan Township, with a low altitude. It is mainly distributed on a gentle slope and has inconvenient transportation. It has 9 villager groups, including Jiliang, Gojiliang, and Manmai, where people from the Bulang, Hani, and Lahu ethnic groups live. The soil is fertile, there is no forest or bamboo forest to block it, the rainfall is moderate, and the sunlight is very sufficient. At present, there are only 3 remaining contiguous ancient tea gardens, and the annual output of real Jiliang ancient tree tea is less than 6 tons.
Jiliang is a Dai place name. "Ji" means soaking, "Liang" means dry, and "Jiliang" means not soaked. Legend has it that the people steamed rice to welcome Sakyamuni, but forgot to add water when soaking rice, hence the name.
The tea trees in Jiliang Ancient Tea Garden are bitter tree species, just like Lao Man'e, Manxinlong, and Mannuo. The tea is thick, the tea aroma is characterized by medicinal aroma, strong body fluid production, and a unique rock sugar aroma in the sweet aftertaste. When brewing, the amount of tea added is only half of the normal Pu'er. Tea lovers who have a deep understanding of Kira tea will, without exception, change their inherent prejudice against bitter tea.
A mesmerising travel
We invite everyone of you to taste the teas at your own pace, creating your own maps of flavour for this wonderful area, which made the history of our beloved pu'er tea.
In the middle of the trimester we will invite you to a webinar with our Vivian, talking about our story with the mountain, the reasons beyond the choice of these teas, and some more stories that accompany these leaves.
In the meanwhile, we look forward to hear from you in our community: click on the button below to access, and share your leaves journey with many other fellow drinkers.
Further leaves