Tong-mu-guan — Gate of Princess Woods — has always been claimed as the origin of all black teas. Although much of the hype is re-appropriation for marketing, what we know for sure is that this small area in Xing Cun, where the first black tea was recorded to have traded in history, has been a crucible for the renaissance of extremely high quality processing and horticulture. Our much demanded Lapsang Souchong Tongmu is also from this area.

In the depth of Wuyi, Tongmuguan’s farmers and producers have always wanted to create a black tea that can achieve the complexity of the fine oolongs for which this mountainous region is so well-known. The quintessential production cultivar Meizhan* has been called into action. For over a decade our farmer has been fine-tuning processing techniques to best interpret the quality leaves from his first flush harvest. We think the best is what we have to present here — Tongmuguan One.

* Meizhan originates from the Minnan region ( south of Fujian ) and has been a popular production cultivar in Wuyi. The leaves attain a very different taste profile here in the unique micro climate and soil conditions to yield oolongs and black teas quite impossible in the south or other lesser environments. An example is Meizhan Classic, a tea similar to the material traders have been using to blend with other teas to fake as Da Hong Pao. Because of the plant’s popularity for productivity reasons, quality in the final products does vary exceedingly. In Tongmuguan One, we have only employed premium harvests from matured trees in the proper origin.