Mountain Teas A Perfect High Altitude Fit for Colorado

Some of the world’s greatest teas grow around mountain ranges across Asia

The Flatirons in Bouder, Colorado with snow.

If there’s one thing most Coloradans understand, it’s mountains.

We claim far more peaks higher than 14,000 feet than any other state in the Lower 48. In fact, mountains at that elevation rise only in Washington and California. Between them, 14 mountains count as 14ers.

Meanwhile, Colorado boasts 53 of them.

We don’t grow mountain teas in Colorado — our mountains are too high and dry. But mountainous regions around the world do. Some of the world’s finest teas flourish at rocky elevation.

A mountainous area of Nepal where tea is grown.
Tea can grow at high elevation, as in Nepal. But it needs mist to thrive.

Tea bushes grow at between 3,000 and 7,000 feet elevation in Nepal. In Tibet, farmers grow tea at 12,000 feet elevation, where summer weather involves mist — a key difference between those mountains and Colorado’s. Farmers across the Indian subcontinent harvest tea in mountainous regions. And in China, mountains support some of the country’s most prized teas.

Our broad selection of teas from around the world involves plenty grown in mountainous regions.

As the season of snowy treks into groomed or wild backcountry begins, let’s honor our wintertime mountain pursuits with sips of mountain tea from three different regions of China. We carry all of these teas, which we carefully source from China’s premier tea farmers.

A mountain city in Yunnan, where pu-erh tea is grown.
Pu-erh tea grows in the mountains of China’s Yunnan Province.

Mountain Tea Tiger Mountain Raw Pu-erh: Yunnan

We thrill to pu-erh teas, which count as some of the most unusual teas produced in China. If fermentation interests — and this being beer- and kombucha-crazy Boulder, chances are it does — then pu-erh is the tea for you.

Oxidized, fermented, formed into cakes and often aged, sometimes for decades, pu-erh offers immense complexity and depth. We carry a broad selection of pu-erhs.

But not all pu-erhs get fermented. One style, called “raw” (fermented pu-erhs are called “ripe”) gets packaged and sold prior to fermentation. We recently received a shipment of raw pu-erh from Tiger Mountain, and are delighted with the tea. It’s young by pu-erh standards (harvested in 2017), fresh and bright. 

All pu-erhs come from China’s Yunnan Province, which borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar in the country’s far south. Parts of Yunnan are mountainous, and this is where pe-erh is grown and crafted.

If you are interested in exploring mountain teas, pu-erh is a winning place to begin the journey. You can’t go wrong — all pu-erhs are grown in and around mountains.

We will offer much more about pu-erhs in coming newsletters and blogs. You can always visit the store, too, for free samples and plenty of assistance guiding you through the world of pu-erh.

A mountain village in Taiwan, where Dong Ding tea is grown
Taiwan is the most mountainous island in the world, and a center for tea growing.

Mountain Tea Dong Ding: Taiwan

This Taiwanese tea is so rooted to mountains that its very name is evocative of the higher places. Translated, Dong Ding means “frozen summit” or “icy peak.” In fact, Dong Ding itself is a mountain. Farmers grew Taiwan’s first teas around Dong Ding, and today it stands as the country’s most famous peak.

Most tea grown in Taiwan is mountain tea. No island contains as many high peaks as Taiwan, which has 286 mountain summits higher than 9,800 feet. The highest, Mount Yu Shan, rises to 12,966 feet.

Dong Ding tea first arrived on the island in 1841, when Taiwanese scholar Lin Feng Chi returned from studies in China with 12 tea plants. The plants came from another mountainous region, the Wu Yi Mountains, which support some of China’s best teas.

Tea thrived in Taiwanese mountains’ cool, misty climate.

Dong Ding is famously sweet, due in part to the hand-picked leaves that are combined with some stems still attached. The combination of leaf and stem produces a tea with a pronounced honey character.

Tea farmers roast the tea to stop fermentation, something all tea artisans perform with oolongs. Sometimes they use charcoalto roast the tea, adding a complex flavor involving elements of toast and woods.

A giant panda climbing a tree in the mountains in China's Qinling Mountains in the Henan province.
China’s Qinling Mountains, in the Henan Province, are home to giant pandas, the longest amphibian in the world, and one of China’s Top 10 teas: Xinyang Maojian.

Mountain Tea Xinyang Maojian: Henan

China’s Qinling Mountains, sometimes referred to as the “Szechuan Alps,” stretch east to west across central China, and serve as a major divide between the northern and southern regions of the country.

A wide range of rare animals and plants call the Qinlings home, including Qinling pandas, Golden takin, golden pheasant, golden snub-nosed monkey, Temminck’s tragopan, crested ibis, golden eagle, the blackthroat bird, and the clouded leopard. In addition, the world’s largest amphibian, the Chinese giant salamader lives in Qinling. It stretches to six feet in length.

The tea from this diverse patch of China is just as rich. Xinyang Maojian, one of our favorites, remains one of China’s Top 10 Famous Teas, the only Top 10 tea from northern China. 

This green tea, with a history dating back 2,300 years, comes from China’s Henan Province, known as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Translated, the name of the tea means “furry tips,” an accurate description of its appearance: needle-like green leaves decorated with furry white stripes.

We find the flavors and aroma highly nuanced, with elements of pine and grass. It is wonderful tea for relaxation and contemplation.

Three mountainous regions — Yunnan, Taiwan and Henan — and three mountain teas. We carry many more teas grown on the sides of peaks, as they are perfect environments for fine teas.

If only we could grow them in Colorado!

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