This is a really interesting tea from Phong Thổ, Lai Châu.
 
Producing this tea requires a long walk into the ancient tree gardens at over 2200m in elevation. Picking the leaves to make this tea is also an arduous task as some of the trees here grow over 20m tall!
 
The tea trees used to make this tea are a non-Sinensis, Camellia varietal. Research on exactly which varietal they are is still pending!
 
This tea brews up with a thick pale copper colored soup. The flavor is really complex. You'll notice a woody- tree root sweet-slightly sour tamarind like flavor that starts building in the throat after a few cups. Strong huigan lasts well after the session has finished. I like brewing it at 85-90 degrees for long steeps.
 
This is a strong tea with an intense qi. Not for the faint-hearted!
 
These trees are so difficult to harvest being so tall and deep in the forest, so different trees are picked on different days. Because of these reasons, this tea is made in a few different batches.
 
The flavor profile of this tea is a bit different batch to batch due to the differences in raw material and slight differences in processing. The producer chooses to not blend all the season's batches together to highlight and appreciate the suddle differences.
 
I agree that this is a really interesting and positive approach and just makes this tea all the more interesting.
 
Independent review of this tea here.
 
Season: Spring 2022
Picking Standard: 2-3 leaves and some buds
Region: Phong Thổ, Lai Châu
Elevation: 2200m