San Yu is the source of our classic Fujian white teas.
Traditionally the cradle of white tea making in China, Fuding county is ribboned with high mountain tea gardens where unique microclimates foster favorable conditons for white tea production. Year-round mist, significant elevation, and hostile soil conditions (rocky and mineral-rich) produce stressed out tea plants with concentrated botanical compounds that ultimately = flavor.
In white tea, environmental factors are critical. Maybe moreso than any other tea type, as this category of tea is, at its simplest, plucked and dried. No amount of expert processing can conceal inferior base material—the character of the land and skill of the producer are fully apparent in finished white tea. Serious white tea producers are thus highly skilled farmers as they are post-processers. Our Fuding white tea reflects that expertise and the clean, living soils the trees grow in at San Yu vividly.
Chen Zhen is by all accounts a classic Fuding white tea farmer. His high mountain plot is named after the 3 grades of white tea he produces. What distinguishes his teas is the base material; hand-plucked, agrochemical-free, and produced on a strict schedule with trusted methods each spring.
Chen's storage is impeccable. Aged on open-air bamboo racks, his unfixed white teas gradually oxidize and develop layers of complexity.