2014 You Le Huang Ye Raw Pu’er Tea is a great value Pu’er that you can sip on all day. So, this batch comes from You Le Mountain, and was harvested in 2014. Hence, the name.
Pu’er is a category that tends to be quite intimidating. The value of each tea is determined by the mountain the tea came from, the age of the tree(s) that were plucked to make the tea, and by the aging and conditions that the tea has been held in since then.
In our endless search for solid Pu’er, we’ve tasted hundreds of teas from the most famous mountains of China to random mountains in Laos that happen to have old tea trees, but do not have the same cultural legacies of Pu’er production as the Yunnan province does.
There are a few different lists of the most famous mountains for Pu’er tea production. Some of these lists and records go back into the Qing Dynasty records. We have two lists of mountains, divided by the Lancang River. Southwest of the Lancang river, we have the following famous tea mountains:
- 南糯山 (Nán Nuò Shān): Nannuo Mountain – Check out our Ripe Pu’er from Nannuo here!
- 帕沙村 (Pà Shā Cūn): Pasha Village
- 景迈山 （Jîng Mài Shān): Jingmai Mountain
- 布朗山 (Bù Lâng Shān): Bulang Mountain
- 勐宋 (Mêng Sòng Xiāng): Mengsong Villages
- 巴达 (Bā Dá Shān): Bada Mountain
- 曼糯山 (Màn Nuò Shān): Man Nuo Mountain
And more famously, Northeast of the Lancang, we have the six most famous tea mountains, according to Qing Dynasty Records:
- 革登山 (Gé Dēng Shān): Gedeng Mountain
- 易武山 (Yì Wû Shān): Yiwu Mountain
- 莽枝山 (Mâng Zhī Shān): Mangzhi Mountain
- 蠻磚山 (Mán Zhuān Shān): Manzhuan Mountain
- 倚邦山 (Yî Bāng Shān): Yibang Mountain
- 攸樂山 (Yōu Lè Shān): Youle Mountain
Admittedly, our You Le Huang Ye Raw Pu’er tea is certainly from the younger tea trees of You Le Mountain. The trees were about 60 years old at the time of harvest. While they haven’t passed the coveted 100 year mark, these trees certainly benefit from the ancient ecosystems that gave birth to tea in the first place. If you’re looking for a safe introduction into Pu’er from the most famous mountains, but don’t want to burn your entire budget on a sample, this is truly a great tea. Likewise, if you’re already familiar with Pu’er and are looking for something relatively young to gulp down during the day, that’s where this 2014 You Le Raw Pu’er tea really shines.
