Tea from where tea began.
The mountain
Da Xue Shan, Yongde County, Yunnan
1,600+ m, 23.4° N
A mountain on the Tropic of Cancer. Three thousand mu of original forest. A garden older than most of the world's tea brands combined.
Why this place
Yongde Da Xueshan
Yongde County sits in the Lincang prefecture of southwest Yunnan — the heart of the region botanists identify as the origin ofCamellia sinensis. Da Xueshan ("Great Snow Mountain") rises to 3,500 m at its summit; our tea grows on its mid-elevation slopes, where mineral-rich red earth, daily mist, and a 10–15 °C diurnal swing concentrate aromatic compounds in the leaf.
Ancient trees
Some older than the country we ship to.
A tea "tree" — not a shrub — is what you get when nobody prunes it for a hundred years. Roots reach four to six meters down. Leaves grow thick, leathery, more pigmented. The plant becomes a kind of slow battery, storing the minerals and microclimate of the mountain. We pick only the youngest two leaves and a bud (一芽二叶) each spring; nothing that strips the tree.
Living Garden
What lives between the trees.
Goats wander through. Wild grass grows up to the trunks. Insects, birds, broadleaf trees — the garden is a forest first, a farm second.
This isn't an aesthetic. It's how trees this old stay healthy. They need the ecosystem they evolved with. No chemical fertilizer. No pesticides. Just the same mountainside they've stood on for generations.
Six steps, one season
Black tea (红茶) made the way Yunnan has made it for a century. Each step is done by hand, judged by a maker who has done it ten thousand times.
Pick · 采摘
One bud, two leaves. Picked only between 9 AM and noon, after the dew lifts and before the heat sets in.
Wither · 萎凋
Spread on bamboo trays, indoor, 12–18 hours. Leaves lose ~40% of their water and become pliable.
Roll · 揉捻
Pressed and twisted, breaking the leaf cells so juices reach the surface. Sets up oxidation.
Oxidize · 发酵
Held warm and humid, 4–6 hours. Green turns copper. Aroma turns from grassy to honeyed.
Slow-fire · 烘焙
Low temperature, long hold. Halts oxidation, locks in aroma, drives moisture down to ~5%.
Rest & ship · 静置 & 装运
Rests at the workshop for two to four weeks. Shipped to Dallas via standard logistics. Re-tested upon arrival.
Tea imported to the United States has to satisfy a list. We treat the list as the floor, not the ceiling.
FDA · Food & Drug Administration
Every shipment registered under U.S. FDA Prior Notice. Pesticide residue and heavy-metal panels run by an accredited third-party lab in Yunnan, with COA accompanying each lot.
FSVP · Foreign Supplier Verification
Aqua Tea is the FSVP-qualified importer of record. We audit Yuncha Zhibang's processing facility on a fixed cadence and keep records open to our retail and wholesale partners on request.
Future · Organic certification
Our gardens are managed without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers by practice. USDA Organic and EU Organic certification is in progress for the 2027 harvest year.