$23.00 – $130.00
Mahei is top tier Yiwu tea, exemplifying the why it's the "Queen of Pu'er"
Before the leaves start to pour out their fullest essence, the initial steepings deliver a high and well-structured profile of sun-baked maize and sweetgrass. As this pursed up mouthfeel expands a soft lubrication sets in, eventually gliding into a smooth, slippery, bittersweet pineapple-jiaogulan savory mid range with fruity-floral notes flitting above. As the first and second act ends, the leaf cells finally start to let it all in to then let it all out, the real show begins: Mahei reveals itself as the thick, juicy, expanding, salivating, viscous queen that she is.
Always delivering smooth honey, never too heavy. A milky minerality with no astringency sails you into the late-session steeps.
If you find the soft sweetness of Yiwu raw pu'er to be something special, then Mahei is the luxury edition.
麻黑 Mahēi is a village belonging to the greater Yiwu / Mansa mountain area, just 3 miles north of Yiwu town along the ridge of the same mountain range. While serving as one of the first higher-end representatives for classic Yiwu taste, Mahei has for some time achieved a following all its own. As the surrounding area has a decent supply of conventionally-managed plantation material, farmer-producers are incentivized to pass it off as higher end Mahei tea or simply 拼配 pīn pèi /mix in with the gushu, pure ancient tree material can be hard to come by.
While the Hé family has access to neighboring Luo Shui Dong's prime materials through a cooperative, in Mahei they are fortunate to have direct relatives that supply them. As it's been offered in our catalog each year for the last 3 years, we knew the Hé family had something special with the Mahei connect without having visited this side of the family, however making the pilgrimage to meet this part of the Hé family in lovely quaint Mahei town this last spring sealed the deal.
Xiongping and his wife in their home in Mahei
Xiongping of Mahei is cousin to Xinping, the new Hé family patriarch. This little dynasty of Yiwu tea that is the Hé family is worth exploring. If you have checked out Jinghong Zhang's book Pu'er Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic then you are already familiar with the Hé family, as senior Mr. Hé (Xiongping's uncle) is written about as a prominently featured tea producer that proves successful in his endeavors to retain the classic feel of the home production Yiwu tribute tea while meeting new QS standards by investing in new state of the art production facilities. See both Mr. Hé and his son (who has now taken over the business) in this episode of Jinghong Zhang's fascinating mini documentary
The view from the Mahei Hé family's living room. On the other side of these mountains is Gua Feng Zhai
Modest, but enough to support his family, Xiongping's ancient arbors comprise 6 acres of land at an elevation of 1350 meters. On April 11th, the family harvested and processed this year's tea. We feel fortunate to be able to bring back Mahei from the Hé family once again. Drink now or try to squirrel this one away for a well-aged tea people have auctioned over.
This year's cake wrapper artwork theme, Water Creatures of the Mekong, feature fish and mammals that call the Mekong River (the part that runs through Yunnan is referred to as the Lancang River) home. A hand-inked drawing by Rosy Kirby of Lost Mountain Prints of one of these creatures grace the front of each cake, and this year's Mahei tea features the fish the Helicopter Catfish Wallago attu.
real shame this one sold out so fast, but I get it, sadly only got a sample - it is exactly as described in the description and truly excellent, kudos on all the great tea and best with what you are dealing wiith in WNC