Black tea from the Yunnan province of China, the birthplace of tea itself. Yunnan black tea is easily identified by its abundance of soft golden tips, and savory cocoa and black pepper flavors. It is a very forgiving tea; will not taste bitter when over-steeped. Our Yunnan Jig has a sweet, almost creamy aroma. Rich and savory flavor, with a slight cocoa powder finish. Earthy and spicy and soft, smooth mouthfeel and finish. Classic Yunnan.

meet the farmer

Zheng Xing Long

Fengqin, Yunnan

Q How long have you been growing tea and what got you started?

A"Yunnan is the hometown of tea. Fengqin is one the biggest tea area in Yunnan. Naturally I began to work in tea when I was 18. Now I have worked for more than 25 years."

Q Can you describe a typical day out in the field?

A"I get up at 6am and go out to work at 7am. The black tea season is around May and June. During that period my main job is to pick up the tea leaves. Normally I spend 8 hours for picking. Because our area is all mountains. I have to climb lots of mountains and take long walks. After picking season, my main job is weeding."

Q What is your favorite part of growing tea?

A"My favorite part is picking tea leaves. In early morning when I climbing the mountains, I can breathe fresh air. I like the feeling to be in the beautiful green nature."

Q Conversely, what is the hardest part of your job?

A"Weeding is the hardest part of my job. The weeds are growing very fast. I have to repeat the job very often. It seems that it is endless."

Q What do you think makes your tea unique or better than others?

A"Yunnan is a suitable place for planting black teas. We have tried to plant tie kuan yin but failed. This means that different areas can make different teas. Besides, the weather in Yunnan is suitable for growing black teas. As a result, with suitable place and weather, we can make good teas here."

Q Are there any tips you can give on how to best brew your tea?

A"Use good pure hot water with Yixing purple clay teapot, I am sure you can have a wonderful cup of nice black maofeng."

learn more

fresh from the garden

To ensure the best quality and value, we import our teas directly from the countries in which they are grown, working closely with the farmers who tender them.

Our Roots Campaign connects our customers with the rich stories and the farmers behind some of our most popular teas.

fresh from origin

Yunnan is the name of the Southern Chinese province bordering Vietnam. It's believed to be the birthplace of tea, and home of the oldest wild growing tea tree (never pruned to be bush height). This tree is estimated to be 1,700 years old! Yunnan's most senior cultivated tree, by contrast, is a relative youngster - a mere 800 years old. These are the large leafed tea varieties - Camellia sinensis assamica - which is also found in India. Yunnan also has the distinction of producing more black tea than any other part of China, although it's a relative newcomer to this variety. Black tea was first produced here in 1939, and is distinguished by its unique peppery, earthy and sometimes cocoa-like flavor.

yunnan jig teabags

View individually wrapped teabags

Filled with the same high quality, full-leaf teas offered loose, our tea bags have a distinctive pyramid shape that gives leaves plenty of room to unfurl and fully infuse for the finest cup of tea. Savor the superior flavor of loose tea without sacrificing the convenience of a teabag.

teabags

15 full leaf pyramids

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545 reviews

yunnan jig

black tea sourced from farmer Zheng Xing Long in Fengqin, Yunnan