Xigui Puer Tea Plantation in Lincang City
Chinese Name: 昔归普洱茶
English Name: Xigui Puer Tea Plantation in Lincang City
ADD:云南省临沧市临翔区绑东乡境内的昔归村忙麓山
Xigui Pu’er Tea
Xigui Pu’er Tea is produced in Xigui Village, Manglu Mountain, Bangdong Township, Linxiang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. Manglu Mountain is an eastern extension of Lincang’s Daxue Mountain, near the Lancang River. It is backed by Xigui Mountain and extends eastward to the Lancang River, with Guixi Ferry (formerly known as Gali Ancient Ferry) at its foot.
Xigui Pu’er Tea Characteristics
Manglu Mountain in Xigui is located in the easternmost part of Lincang City, within the jurisdiction of Bangdong Village Committee, about 12 kilometers from Bangdong Village. The mountain is known for its beautiful scenery and captivating natural landscape. The soil is a typical red soil found along the Lancang River, and the forest vegetation consists of subtropical monsoon forests, including trees like red cedar, camphor, banyan, ox tongue, olive, and wild mango.
When brewed, the tea is light yellow and clear. It has an immediate fragrance, with no off-flavors, and a sweet taste. After three infusions, the sweetness becomes more pronounced, with a high aroma. The tea leaves a salivating sensation on the cheeks and the underside of the tongue, with a slight astringency on the tongue that quickly dissipates. From the fourth to the sixth infusions, the fragrance resembles orchids, with a hint of rock sugar aroma, and the texture becomes thicker. If brewed strongly, the bitterness emerges but dissipates quickly. After seven infusions, the color of the tea remains almost unchanged, becoming more mellow, with a slight astringency, a deep throat rhyme, and a long-lasting aftertaste. After ten infusions, the flavor starts to fade, the sweetness slightly decreases, but the rock sugar aroma remains.
Some say that Xigui is the “Lincang Ban Zhang.” While it used to be less known and consumed, I believe this might refer to its “price.” Xigui and Ban Zhang have completely different styles, each with its own merits. The old Ban Zhang is too intense, while Xigui is more elegant. The first few infusions are full-bodied and strong, making it more suitable for men, while the later infusions have an orchid fragrance and rock sugar aroma, making it more comfortable for women to enjoy.
Xigui Village is a mountainous area under the Bangdong Administrative Village of Bangdong Township. It is 12 kilometers from the village committee and 16 kilometers from the township government. The area covers about 4 square kilometers, with an altitude of 750 meters, an average annual temperature of 21°C, and an annual rainfall of 1,200 millimeters. The ancient tea gardens of Xigui are mostly distributed in the mid-mountain areas, interspersed within the forests. The tea trees are about 200 years old, with the larger ones having a base circumference of 60-110 centimeters. The “Chronicles of Mengding County” from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China recorded: “There are about six to seven thousand tea-growing households in the county, with Manglu and Xigui in Bangdong Township being particularly famous. Manglu tea surpasses other tea-producing areas in color and taste.” The Manglu mentioned here is now known as Manglu, and Xigui is now called Xigui.
In 1970, during the village consolidation movement, villagers from Manglu Mountain gradually moved to Xigui Village. Since then, Xigui Village has annually produced 100 kilograms of Xigui tea for the county. At that time, the tea farmers called it “County Party Committee Tea.” The reason the county chose Xigui tea as the reception tea was likely because of its quality.
Characteristics of Xigui Pu’er Tea
Xigui tea is produced in Xigui Village, Manglu Mountain, Bangdong Township, Linxiang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. Manglu Mountain is an eastern extension of Lincang’s Daxue Mountain, near the Lancang River. It is backed by Xigui Mountain and extends eastward to the Lancang River, with Guixi Ferry (formerly known as Gali Ancient Ferry) at its foot.
Xigui tea, also known as Manglu tea, is a simple tea that has now become quite complex. At Dadian, we prefer to explain it simply using numbers.
- The oldest tea tree is 250 years old, with only one such tree, and the usual tea trees are around 200 years old. The “Chronicles of Mengding County” from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China recorded: “There are about six to seven thousand tea-growing households in the county, with Manglu and Xigui in Bangdong Township being particularly famous. Manglu tea surpasses other tea-producing areas in color and taste.” The Manglu mentioned here is now known as Manglu, and Xigui is now called Xigui. This is the earliest historical record of Xigui tea.
- Fundamental Characteristics:
This is a summary by Dadian Feiyang, the source of Xigui tea’s characteristics. The tea trees are not pruned, and only harvested in the spring and autumn. Dadian Feiyang has observed many ancient trees, and if the taste is not satisfactory, it is often due to two reasons: first, pruning, and second, excessive harvesting. The fundamental reason is to increase yield and make harvesting easier. The tea trees in Yiwu, for example, have a history that is clearly hundreds of years older than Xigui. However, as soon as they grow taller than 2 meters, the main trunk is cut off, allowing only horizontal growth, not vertical growth. During Dadian’s travels in tea-producing areas, he found that even in some regions where the tea trees are not as old as those in Yiwu, they often perform well because they have not been pruned. Yiwu Gaoshan Village’s tea is considered superior to Mahei because, although it is a few hundred years younger, it has not been pruned, resulting in a fuller flavor.
The tea from Manglu Mountain has another characteristic: it grows naturally. Some trees are three to four meters tall, others five to six meters. Some tea trees have only a remnant of the main trunk left, but new branches have sprouted from the base. The large tea trees have a base circumference of about 80-90 centimeters. The tea gardens are traditionally harvested and naturally grown, with twisted branches that resemble a crouching dragon or a bird spreading its wings. These features make them both easy to climb for harvesting and visually appealing, making them a typical example of an ancient artificially cultivated tea garden.
Generally, pruned tea trees have larger, rounder leaves. Many people might think that Xigui tea has fine, long leaves, and even claim that it is not ancient tea. I’ve heard many metaphysical claims about this, such as: tea with a thin leaf base is not ancient tree tea, tea leaves without hair are not ancient tree tea, and tea with fine, long leaves is not ancient. However, I am willing to refute any expert who makes such statements, not out of arrogance, but because I have the facts to back it up!
Now, let’s discuss a very critical number: how much Xigui tea is there, actually? The following views are solely those of Dadian and do not represent the industry consensus.
According to what I’ve seen, heard, and investigated, the current harvesting area for Xigui tea is at most 300 acres. The maximum spring tea production is 1.5-2 tons, and the quantity of autumn tea should be about two-thirds of the spring tea. If we use Dadian’s standards to select tea from Manglu Mountain, the expected total output should be less than 1 ton. Thus, according to our usual tea-purchasing practices, we must not buy more than 20% of the tea from one place; otherwise, the price will rise sharply. Therefore, the optimal purchase volume should not exceed 200 kilograms. Of course, if we relax the standards and include non-Manglu Mountain tea, there will be more. Considering that if we do this, we would want to do it every year, so we will not raise the price significantly. Such a significant price increase would be detrimental to both us and the tea lovers.
Similarly, as we aim to make the best tea, we plan to make Xigui tea only from Manglu Mountain next year. We will collect as much as possible without forcing it. The principle of tea collection is that tea merchants are united, and everyone will exercise restraint. After all, if the price reaches 5,000 yuan per kilogram next year, no one will benefit. Of course, there will be those who try to pass off inferior tea as Xigui tea, but they are not my competitors. Tourists are the most unstable and irrational factor. The estimate of Xigui’s production is only valid for the next two years; it is expected that production will increase 5-10 times in the next five years. As we all know, Chinese people understand this very well!
Here is my evaluation of Xigui tea:
- Regarding its potency: within 15 seconds, a bitter and astringent taste fills the mouth, followed by a return of sweetness (this evaluation is limited to spring tea).
- The water quality is crucial. The spring water from Manglu Mountain, compared to the bottled water in Lincang City, can exaggerate the flavor by about 30%.
- The so-called mushroom aroma is a legend associated with Xigui tea. This type of aroma description is not precise, but you can try to experience it.
- There is a 70% drop (describing the difference in flavor) between spring and autumn tea.
- There are at least three versions of Xigui tea on the market. These versions have only slight differences in price, appearance, and characteristics. Xigui tea has very few flowers; thus, the fruity aroma of the tea in the market is a fake. Real Xigui tea does not have much fragrance. Most of the floral fragrance is processed artificially. To identify this, observe the state of the ancient tea leaves (even if the fragrance is mild). After half a year of aging, real ancient tree tea leaves will emit a faint orchid fragrance, and you will understand what real fragrance is.
- If Xigui tea were to be aged, it could easily develop into a tea comparable to an eight-year-old Banzhang tea. There is currently no scientific explanation for this transformation, but in layman’s terms, astringency is not the key factor for Pu’er tea’s aging potential.
- Good Xigui tea will become very sweet after aging, with a pure flavor and a hint of rock sugar aroma. The sweetness and smoothness are the key characteristics of good Xigui tea.
- To maintain the value of the tea, it must be stored under proper conditions. Tea that has been aged for 15-20 years, which has been stored under poor conditions, will have diminished value. Tea that has been aged for more than 20 years will undergo a qualitative change if stored inappropriately.
The Origin of Xigui Pu’er Tea
Tea from Manglu, located in Bangdong Township, Linxiang District, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, has been renowned for centuries. However, while the tea’s fragrance remains unchanged and its quality undiminished, fewer people recognize the name “Manglu Tea” today. Instead, “Xigui Tea” has gradually taken its place. Why is that? What is Xigui Tea? Is Xigui Tea a type of Pu’er tea? The answer is yes, Xigui Tea is indeed Pu’er tea.
Xigui Tea is rich in internal substances, highly durable, and known for its strong concentration. It has a thick, robust flavor, a sharp fragrance, and a potent tea energy, yet the tea remains smooth and gentle, with a delicate texture that accompanies a strong aftertaste and salivation, leaving a lasting fragrance in the mouth.
Xigui Tea belongs to the Bangdong large-leaf variety. Due to local customs, only spring and autumn teas are harvested each year, which helps protect the tea trees, resulting in tea quality that surpasses that of other villages.
The Taste of Xigui Puerh Tea
When Xigui Tea is brewed, the tea soup is a light, clear yellow, and the aroma is immediately noticeable without any off-flavors, offering a sweet taste. After three infusions, the aftertaste becomes more pronounced, the fragrance sharpens, and a salivating sensation occurs in the cheeks and beneath the tongue, with a slight astringency on the tongue that quickly dissipates. From the fourth to the sixth infusion, the fragrance becomes orchid-like, and a rock sugar scent gradually emerges. The tea soup becomes more viscous, and when brewed with a heavier hand, a slight bitterness may appear, which is light and easy to dissolve. After the seventh infusion, the tea soup’s color remains almost unchanged, becoming even more mellow and thick, with a slight astringency, a deep throat rhyme, and a long-lasting aftertaste. After the tenth infusion, the tea gradually fades, the sweetness slightly decreases, but the aftertaste remains good, and the rock sugar fragrance still lingers.