Yiwu Mahei易武麻黑

Classification and Origin

Category: CHINA-PUERH TEA — a terroir-based, village unit within the Yiwu range (not a separate recipe brand)

古树 (gǔshù) — ancient trees

S — top level with relatively more accessible recognizability (compared to S+ micro-zones of Yiwu)

Origin: Mahei Village (麻黑), Yiwu Tea Mountain (易武), Mengla County (Měnglà, 勐腊), Xishuangbanna Prefecture (Xīshuāngbǎnnà, 西双版纳), Yunnan

Type: Sheng Puer (shēng pǔ'ěr, 生普洱)

History and Culture

Yiwu is the historical granary of the "Ancient Six Mountains"; its fame stretches from the era when Yunnan tea traveled by caravan northward and to the imperial court.

Within the range, it is precisely the village names — Mahei, Luoshuidong, Guafengzhai, Wangong — that became the "new classics" of puer collecting in the modern era, when the market reoriented from factory blends to single-village and single-tree (dānzhū / dānzhài) material from ancient trees.

Botany and Raw Material

古树 (gǔshù) — tea from ancient trees, as distinct from 大树 (large but younger trees), 野生 (wild trees), 过渡型 (transitional type), and 半栽培 (semi-cultivated) plantings found in other Yunnan ranges.

Brewing

Soft, near boiling.

Approximately 7 – 8 g per 100 – 120 ml.

A quick warming rinse of the dry leaf, followed by short infusions with gradual lengthening.

Ancient Yiwu trees withstand many infusions, revealing sweetness and "韵" gradually — do not oversteep on the first infusions.

Teaware: Gaiwan or Yixing teapot; dense, gongfu-style brewing.