Discovery in Kunming, patience in Moscow
Amgalan Chin first encountered this tea in 2015 during a sourcing journey through Yunnan. Stored in a small Kunming warehouse by a family-run producer, the 2013 Jingmai cake had just been pressed and was quietly maturing under natural, dry conditions. The material came from old tea trees deep within the Lancang river protected zones—high elevation, biodiverse forests that have never seen agrochemicals. Amgalan recognized the purity immediately: intact leaves, clean processing, and a structure built for the long haul. He acquired a portion of that batch and moved it into his own temperature- and humidity-controlled storage, first in Moscow and later in a dedicated cellar. Over the next decade he monitored its transformation, tasting annually. The slow, cool cellaring preserved the tea’s floral-aromatic core while rounding any youthful sharpness. Now at eleven years, it has reached what Amgalan calls ‘the sweet spot’—a fully resolved sheng that still carries the bright, honeyed signature of Jingmai but with a depth and calm only time can impart. This cake is a testament to cross-regional care: Yunnan’s ancient trees, shaped by a master who bridges Siberian winters and subtropical springs.