Yunnan, China
Wikipedia: Yunnan | Official Government Website: www.yn.gov.cnUpdated: Apr. 2, 2018
Table of contents:
About Yunnan, China | Tea-Producing Regions of Yunnan, China | Styles of Tea Produced in Yunnan, China | Best (Top-Rated) Yunnan Teas
About Yunnan, China | Tea-Producing Regions of Yunnan, China | Styles of Tea Produced in Yunnan, China | Best (Top-Rated) Yunnan Teas
About Yunnan, China
Clickable map of Yunnan; districts for which we have single-origin teas listed and/or dedicated pages are highlighted in green. This map is our original work, © All Rights Reserved.
Yunnan(云南) is the southwesternmost province of China, and is known for being the origin of a number of rich and diverse styles of tea. Yunnan borders Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Tibet in China, and also borders Vietnam, Laos, and Burma.Yunnan's climate and topography is diverse, with many mountains, but the climate tends to be mild, and tends to have strongly seasonal rainfall in keeping with the pattern of the Asian monsoon, with very wet summers and very dry winters. In the warmest parts of the province, the climate is closer to a tropical wet-dry climate, with only slightly cooler winters; the cooler areas have more of a subtropical climate with cool, dry winters.
Yunnan is best known for Pu-erh tea, a type of dark tea that originated in the region and is still produced primarily in the region. Yunnan also produces black teas (such as Yunnan red / dian hong), and green teas, many of which have unique qualities setting them apart from teas produced elsewhere.
A canopy of ancient tea trees in Yunnan province, photo courtesy of The Tea Urchin, originally posted in He Kai Ancient Tea Garden
Some of the tea produced in Yunnan province is produced in a system of permaculture, with ancient tea trees, some hundreds of years old, grown in a tree-like habit. In these regions, people pick the tea leaves by climbing the trees. The forests of tea trees in these areas support biodiversity that is much greater than that found in most monoculture tea plantations, with epiphytes, including moss, lichens, and flowering plants, growing on the tea trees.There is also plenty of plantation-style cultivation as well.
Tea-Producing Regions of Yunnan, China
Styles of Tea Produced in Yunnan, China
This is a selection, not an exhaustive listing, of the styles of tea most commonly produced in Yunnan, China.
Best Yunnan Teas
The notion of the "best" Yunnan teas is subjective, because different people have different tastes. We present the most often-rated and highest-rated teas produced in Yunnan, China, and allow you to draw your own conclusions.
Most Often-Rated Teas
Emperor's Puerh - Black Tea
Brand: | Numi Organic Tea |
Style: | Pu-erh Tea |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Teabag |
53
7 Ratings
Yunnan Gold (Golden Yunnan)
Brand: | Adagio Teas |
Style: | Yunnan Gold |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |
52
6 Ratings
Top-Rated Yunnan Teas
2006 Fengqing Raw Pu-erh Tea Tuocha
Brand: | TeaVivre |
Style: | Raw (Sheng) Pu-erh |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Compressed |
97
3 Ratings
Imperial Pure Bud Yunnan Black Tea of Simao
Brand: | Yunnan Sourcing |
Style: | Yunnan Gold |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |
91
3 Ratings