Hui Yuan's Secret - Hundred Years Grove Shui Xian 2024

Hui Yuan's Secret 慧苑秘竟

Hundred Years Old Grove Shui Xian 慧苑坑百年老丛水仙

From a very revered garden from the depths of Hui Yuan Keng stands an old grove of a hundred years Shui Xian tea trees. 

Frequent rain fall and mist throughout the year gets absorbed by the volcanic rocks that surround this garden. The rocks traps the water and slowly releases it, creating a highly humid and supple biodiverse environment that is superb for nurturing the Shui Xian "Water Sprite" tea trees. The garden is enshroud in mist and is nested away by surrounding rock formations. Sunlight normally can't even reach this place. The hundred years trees grows with climbing moss hanging all over the trunks and branches.

To harvest this tea, we had to take a two to three hour hike into the ravine. There is only one narrow entrance and path back and forth. Leaves are carefully hand picked from the old trees to prevent damaging the delicate branches. Once picked, the leaves are rushed back, traveling on foot, to the nearest workshop to start the withering process. If the window of time is missed, the batch of superb quality material will be rendered completely unworkable.

Old grove Shui Xians usually show clear signs of one or layers of multiple characters of moss fragrance, bamboo leaves fragrance, or wood fragrance. This particular tea exemplifies a woodsy character, which is the marker for quality old grove Shui Xians.

There are around a few revered mountain gardens producing the remaining two thousand Shui Xian trees that are over a hundred years. This is one of them. I will try to work on trying to secure small amounts from the other gardens as well but it extremely difficult as a small project to be able to even get close enough to this kind of tea leaves.

Because this is a new production and harvest of 2024, the roast (mid-high roast, not high-dark roast) have just started to slowly dissipate and reveal more of how the tea can be brewed. Although it would had been best to allow it to rest for a year before making available, I just got too excited and had to put it up on the list this year. In the past year, I stashed away a small amount of the 2023 harvest in a canister to allow maturing. To my surprise the 2023 harvest showed notes of toasted chestnuts and a slightly thicker viscosity. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this tea (and all of the Yan Chas in my collection). Please leave your comments in the contact page. I had spent the last decade of my life in pursuing tea and making it my life's work. Your feedback and generosity is what keeps me going.