Cloud tea is like life; life is learning, wisdom is cultivation.
Today let us explore a question in depth: why has Tong Qing Hao’s tea always been praised as the finest in quality? The answer begins with their tea-making craft.
Tong Qing Hao’s ability to maintain high quality for over two hundred years lies in its strict control of every step of tea making. First comes the selection of material: Tong Qing Hao used only the finest ancient-tree leaves from Yiwu Tea Mountain. These trees grow at higher altitudes with abundant sunshine and moderate rainfall, producing leaves exceptionally rich in inner substances. The roots of ancient trees reach deep underground, absorbing far more minerals than terrace teas, so the tea tastes more mellow and layered. And because ancient trees grow slowly, the leaves accumulate their inner compounds more fully.
Next comes withering. After picking, the leaves are spread out in a well-ventilated place so their moisture slowly evaporates. This process looks simple, but the length of time and the temperature both affect the final taste. Tong Qing Hao’s old masters, with decades of experience, could judge this point precisely. They felt the softness of the leaves by hand and smelled the changes in their fragrance — a sensory judgment no instrument could replace. Well-executed withering gives the tea a richer aroma and a smoother liquor.
Kill-green is the most critical step. High-temperature quick-frying must halt the enzymes in the leaves while preserving their fragrance. The control of this heat is truly a matter of a hair’s breadth making a thousand miles of difference: too hot and the leaves scorch; too low and the enzymes survive, spoiling the later aging. Every kill-green master at Tong Qing Hao was a veteran of many years’ training, whose touch and judgment no machine could replace. By the sound and feel of the leaves in the wok alone, they could tell the degree of kill-green.
I have drunk tea for decades and tried Pu-erh from many different tea houses, but Tong Qing Hao’s tea remains the benchmark in my heart. Their teas enter mellow, return sweetness for a long time, and grow more fragrant with age. Such quality cannot be achieved overnight — it is the accumulation and inheritance of generations of experience. Every time I drink a Tong Qing Hao tea, I discover something new and gain a new insight — that is the charm of a truly fine tea.
On the wellness side, I suggest paying attention to water temperature when brewing. Many people like to brew with boiling water directly, but different teas call for different temperatures. Ripe Pu-erh can take water at 100°C, but raw Pu-erh is best brewed at 90–95°C, which better preserves the beneficial substances in the leaves. In addition, it is advisable to discard the first infusion — called “washing the tea” or “awakening the tea” — which rinses away surface impurities and lets the leaves unfurl better. Do not steep too long either: the first three infusions need only ten-odd seconds, and can then be lengthened gradually.
Tea has grades high and low, but everyone may enjoy it regardless of status. Exquisite as Tong Qing Hao’s craftsmanship was, they never hoarded these techniques as secrets — they were happy to share them with fellow tea makers. This open-mindedness is precisely one reason why Yiwu Tea Mountain could develop as a whole.
The secret of quality, in the end, comes down to two words: devotion. Tong Qing Hao spent two hundred years illustrating the true meaning of those words.
Making friends through tea — please, have a cup.
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
ZENTEA MANOR
Alliance Supply Chain Services Limited
www.zentea-shop.com
