Spring dawn in Mansa: Amgalan Chin’s search for quiet elegance
In the last days of March 2025, Amgalan Chin walked the overgrown tea gardens of Mansa, a cluster of ancient villages in the eastern folds of the Yiwu mountains. Here, at 1250 meters, the trees are old but scattered among wild underbrush — less manicured than the more famous Mahei, and producing a leaf with a distinctly quieter personality.
Amgalan has been visiting Mansa each spring since 2018, drawn less by commercial volume than by the meditative quality of its sheng. This year, a cooperative of three Tai Lue families agreed to supply their finest pickings: buds and the first two leaves, harvested in the cool of dawn and carried down the hill in bamboo baskets before the sun grew high.
Processing was overseen by Amgalan himself in a small family workshop. Withering under bamboo shade, a quick high-heat kill-green to preserve floral notes, careful hand-rolling, and a long sun-drying on rattan mats. The maocha rested for a month before being steamed and pressed into 357 gram cakes using stone moulds. No harsh compression — the leaves remain whole enough to unfurl beautifully.
From his years crossing tea roads from Russia to Yunnan, Amgalan understands that the greatest sheng is made with patience. This Mansa cake reflects that: a young tea that already carries the breath of the forest, and will age with deep, soft dignity over decades.