PROFILE: MOSS, MINERAL, ROCK

ORIGIN: SUOI GIANG, YEN BAI, VIETNAM

HARVEST: APRIL 2023

The 2023 Snow Princess is beginning to develop fascinating signs of maturity. Stored loose, the tea has been able to age quickly and evenly. Earlier fruity notes have faded as minerals become more pronounced in a liquor with a rich body and ultra smooth taste – and an interesting pinky-yellow colour. As before, Snow Princess hits the perfect balanced between astringency, sweetness and bitterness. Bright, fresh and complex with sweet aftertaste, the tea will easily handle six or seven brews before losing its power.

Snow Princess is prepared from one bud and one leaf only. Leaves undergo a short withering after which they are put through a brief firing/ fixing period before being rolled. They are then left to sun-dry to preserve the shape and colour of the leaf. This tea is very similar in style to a raw (sheng) Pu'erh but with a Vietnamese character.  It is currently only sold as loose leaf.

Suoi Giang (literally: heavenly river) is a small commune located in the misty mountains of Yen Bai province. It nestles in an area surrounded by the ancient shaded forests, at altitudes between 1300 and 1400 metres, where wild tea trees have been grown by ethnic minority families for many hundreds of years. H'Mong families continue to harvest the leaves today either for their own consumption as fresh tea or for processing as dried leaves. Apart from tea the district is also known for sticky rice and hot springs.