2024 MiDi Imperial Tribute Tea

 FatBat Private Pressing Gushu Raw Puerh

迷帝贡茶

Each Spring, we spotlight one of the 4 historical Imperial Tribute Tea Gardens. 

• 2022 - Xu Li Shan
• 2023 - Kunlu Shan
• 2024 - MiDi

2024’s addition to this Imperial Tribute Garden series is from the MiDi Imperial Tea Gardens (迷帝贡茶园). Distinctive small-leafed “tribute tea” character is apparent – a delicate, silky broth and a refined yet persistent floral fragrance, worthy of the imperial courts.

Brighter and more intense than our Kunlu Shan offerings, but similarly delicate-bodied and focused on distinctive aroma in the soup. This is a Tribute tea with more muscle and staying power than those we have produced previously from Kunlu or Xu Li mountains.

Fragrance emerges explosively after the swallow, intense florals and notes of raw nectar that penetrate deep into the upper palate and sweep through the nasal passages. The sweet tropical tang of dried mango and jackfruit coats the tongue, with a super long finish that builds through the steeps. Body feel is direct, strong energy. This is a deceptively powerful tea.        

TERROIR 

 MiDi is one of the 4 ancient imperial tribute tea gardens (the others being ManSong, Kunlu Shan, and Xu Li Shan). MiDi is situated in the Pu’Er / Simao region, along the Mojiang river line. There is debate over which specific groves in the MiDi region are the true site of the imperial gardens. Our material was secured from an ancient tea garden at 1800m altitude, the site of the old, abandoned King Tea Tree of MiDi. (In recent years, a group of investors has ringfenced a different Tribute Garden at 1250m altitude, crowning a “new” King Tea Tree, along with rampant Tiktok exposure, and noticeable pricing control!). Our choice was made based on examination of the trees in the older 1800m garden, which remain untouched/unfilmed/unvisited. The trees here produce buds which bear a distinctive “goose-yellow” tinge, which this garden is known for (last pictures). The proof is in the finished product – a tea that is worthy of the label “Imperial Tribute”.

TECHNICALS