Looking back at the history of Pu-erh tea over the past thirty years, most of the products came from the four state-run tea factories, where tea from good quality tea gardens was used as raw material for blending and production. It was not until 1999 that a newly established private tea factory, Changtai Tea Factory, now renamed Yunnan Changtai Tea Group, was established. At the beginning of its establishment, China Yunnan Changtai Tea Group set up the Yiwu branch of Changtai Tea Company in Yiwu, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and began to produce the first batch of wild pu-erh tea from the Yiwu tea region, named Yichang Hao. The launch of the Yichang Hao immediately attracted a lot of attention from the industry. Although it was newly made, it had a soft taste without bitterness and astringency, the soup was thick and oily, the returning sweetness was immediate, strong and persistent. It could be brewed for more than ten times and the tea taste would not fade. After drinking it there is a feeling of great pleasure. The introduction of Yichang Hao has broken the image of young sheng Pu-erh as bitter, astringent, and not suitable for drinking when newly made. Now it is very popular among consumers.
The first batch of Yichang tea made in 1999 was named "99 Yichang". You can also find this batch at my website www.txs-tea.com, but what I am sharing with you today is the 2005 Yichang Hao 100g small cake, using wild tea from the six ancient tea mountains as raw material. It is all tea grown in the primeval environment, like the early Chen Hongchang Yibang Qi Zi Bing, Chen Hongchang "barbaric brick". Yichang Hao is composed of tea from Yiwu/Gedeng/Mangzhi/Mansa, which are among the "Six Famous Tea Mountains". This tea is the highest grade Yichang Hao produced by Chang Tai Group in 2005. It is made from raw material of large tree teas from Yiwu area in Yunnan Province, purely hand-pressed with stone moulds and carefully crafted by traditional techniques. If you would like to taste this tea, it is now available at my website.