Cloud tea is like life; life is learning, wisdom is cultivation.
At the Sanduo Festival in Lijiang, besides the sacrificial ceremonies and drinking pu-erh, there is something you absolutely must try — the Naxi people’s roasted tea. Roasted tea is the most traditional way the Naxi people drink tea, with a history even longer than compressed pu-erh cakes. The method is simple, but the flavour is truly unique: tea leaves are placed in a clay pot, slowly roasted over charcoal until they begin to scorch, then water is added and brought to a boil. The resulting liquor is deep brown, intensely rich and fragrant.
The Naxi people’s history of drinking roasted tea stretches back several hundred years. In those days, the Naxi lived in the mountains around Lijiang, with inconvenient transport and little access to outside tea. They used leaves from the wild tea trees on the mountain, making their own roasted tea. The method was simple but practical — one pot of roasted tea would last all day, refreshing and warming the stomach. As transport improved, the Naxi began drinking outside teas, but the roasted tea tradition has been maintained to this day.
This year at the Sanduo Festival, I visited a Naxi elder specifically to learn the craft of roasted tea. The elder’s surname was He, a lifelong Lijiang native. He told me the key to roasted tea is the fire — too hot and the leaves burn, too cool and they lack fragrance. You must roast slowly over charcoal, letting the aroma gradually release.
First, the elder placed a small clay pot on the charcoal to preheat. Then he added about ten grams of sun-dried loose leaf tea. Holding the pot by its handle, he slowly shook it back and forth so the leaves heated evenly. As the roasting progressed, the leaves began to give off a truly distinctive aroma — not ordinary tea fragrance, but a scent carrying notes of scorched grain and smoke. When the leaves began to change colour, the elder quickly poured in boiling water. The moment the water met the leaves came a sharp hiss and a plume of white steam.
After brewing, the elder poured the liquor into two small cups. I took a sip — incredibly rich! But not harshly bitter rich; rather, a layered, complex intensity. First the scorched aroma, then the tea flavour in the middle, and finally a returning sweetness at the finish. This is a flavour no other brewing method can produce. The elder said: “Roasted tea must be drunk slowly, do not rush. Taste the changes in every sip.” I followed his advice, sipping slowly, and found that each mouthful was indeed slightly different.
Roasted tea also has notable wellness qualities. The charcoal roasting process is said to reduce the caffeine content, so you do not feel overly stimulated afterwards. At the same time, the roasting is traditionally believed to produce compounds that warm the stomach and dispel cold. In a high-altitude, cool place like Lijiang, a cup of roasted tea warms hands and feet right away.
The elder and I talked for a long time. He told me that as a child, the first thing he did every morning was help his grandmother roast tea. At the time it seemed ordinary, but only now does he realise how precious those moments were. He still roasts tea every day; it has become part of his life. Just as Cantonese people drink morning tea, the Naxi people drinking roasted tea is a way of life.
Tea has grades; all may enjoy it regardless of status.
After drinking roasted tea, the elder gave me a small clay pot. He said: “Take it home and roast your own tea. It may not taste the same as here in Lijiang, but it carries the heart of our Naxi people.” I accepted the pot with great gratitude. It came back with me to Guangdong and now sits on my tea table as a treasured keepsake. Every time I see it, I remember the experience of drinking roasted tea in Lijiang.
The Sanduo Festival gave me more than a festival experience; it gave me a memory of roasted tea. The Naxi people’s roasted tea is like their culture — simple yet profound, unadorned yet full of flavour. That is the lesson tea teaches me: the simplest things are often the most beautiful.
Make friends through tea, please enjoy a cup.
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Author: Old Tea Head · Lin Shen (LamSam)
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