July 2026
Ya'an Tibetan Tea from Zhougongshan Tea Co.
Ya’an Tibetan tea, historically known as Nanlu Biancha or Southern-Route Border Tea, is one of Sichuan’s oldest dark-tea traditions. Produced around Ya’an and historically transported into Tibetan regions, it was made to travel well, keep over time, and withstand prolonged brewing. Through fixation, rolling, pile fermentation, drying, and resting, the leaves develop the deep color, mellow body, and lasting sweetness associated with the style. We are honored to collaborate with Zhougongshan Tea Co. (周公山茶业), a family producer based at the foot of Mount Zhougongshan. The Zhang family has worked with tea for generations: Zhang Guanglie founded the refined-tea factory in 1992, and his daughter Zhang Rongrong took over in 2004 after growing up learning tea cultivation and processing alongside her father. In 2018, she was named a Ya’an representative inheritor of Nanlu Biancha, part of China’s tea traditions inscribed by UNESCO in 2022. From Zhougongshan’s high-mountain gardens, we selected four contrasting expressions: a finely plucked Ya Xi tea, a Mini Kang Brick, a Tibetan Tea Coin, and a Tibetan tea scented with high-mountain Damascus rose. This month also offers a point of comparison with the Tibetan teas we featured in March 2022 and April 2024—three producers working within the same broad tradition, yet expressing it in different ways.
