Description
Wild Jungle Assamica is a wild tea harvested from assamica trees that grow in the jungles of Northern Thailand, close to the border with Myanmar. This sheng-style dark tea is produced in a small village not far from Pu Muen Mountain in Mae Ai District of Chiang Mai Province. This rare wild tea has a profile that is very unusual, displaying multilayered complexity of flavour. It was harvested in April 2021 and is sourced by us from a specialist Thai tea wholesaler. We also have a black/red tea, made from the same leaves.
This jungle dark tea is picked by a local hill tribe from the dense forest surrounding their homes. The village is located close to Pu Muen Mountain and is surrounded by Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park. The villagers walk for several hours through the forest, sometimes crossing into Myanmar. They pick leaves from wild growing asssamica tea trees, many of which are over 100 years old. These trees have grown here naturally, from seed, and without any human interference. Most of these are found at an altitude between 1,000 and 1,800 metres. This means that these wild trees are quite different from each other, leading to an uneven and mixed appearance. Some leaves have a slight purple hue on the smaller, younger leaves, which is a naturally occurring colour due to higher altitude and harsher growing conditions. After picking it is processed in a style similar to sheng pu-erh.
This Wild Jungle Assamica has very large leaves of mixed appearance, displaying the mixed but high quality nature of the raw material. Many of the leaves are one bud plus 3-4 bigger leaves and there are some pure buds mixed in as well. All in all a very attractive leaf. The liquor has good clarity and a bright golden colour. The taste is medium strength, with a smooth and mellow character. The notes are predominantly verdantly fruity, with some light woodiness and earthiness. Very much like grape must. The aftertaste is long-lasting, very sweet but giving way to pleasant tartness at the very end.
We suggest brewing at 90°C for 3 minutes according to your taste. It can be brewed around 3+ times depending on your taste preferences. For best results, use gongfu style of brewing.