Yiwu tea is one of the high-end teas in China. Yiwu tea is produced in the Yiwu Mountain area of Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, and falls under the category of Pu'er tea. The quality of Yiwu tea mainly depends on the quality of its raw materials and the skillfulness of its production process; therefore, Yiwu tea has a higher value and belongs to the high-end category.
What Category Does Yiwu Belong To?
In Pu'er tea, category is a very important concept, referring to the grade or quality level of the tea. According to production processes and quality, Pu'er tea can generally be divided into seven grades: Brand Grade 7, Economic Grade 7, 6, 5, 4, Superior Grade 3, and so on. The specific tea grades and corresponding standards vary by region. Yiwu Pu'er tea comes from tea gardens in Yiwu County, Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, and is considered a treasure among Pu'er teas. It is well-loved for its unique taste, mild nature, and clear color. Generally speaking, Yiwu Pu'er tea made from wild tea trees belongs to the mid-to-high-end category, but the specific grade of Yiwu tea can vary.
In 2011, the national government established the Pu'er Tea Classification Standard, dividing Pu'er tea into the following six categories: Fresh Leaf Tea: Refers to fresh leaves after initial processing. Raw Tea: Refers to Pu'er tea that has been processed but not yet matured. Ripe Tea: Refers to Pu'er tea made by fermenting raw tea. Loose Tea: Refers to Pu'er tea shaped simply using hand tools. Cake Tea: Refers to tea products shaped like round cakes through compression. Tuocha: Refers to tea products shaped like small bowls. If classified according to these categories, Yiwu Pu'er tea primarily falls into cake tea and tuocha. Further categorizing by quality, the highest grade of Yiwu tea is “Superior,” followed by “Grade 1” and “Grade 2,” then “Grade 3,” “Grade 4,” and “Grade 5.”
What Is the Most Expensive Yiwu Tea?
On March 5th, the picking rights for the 2019 Yunnan High Tree “Tea Empress” (a high tree in Yiwu Hundred Flowers Pond) were sold for a sky-high price of 1 million yuan. Just days earlier, we were still marveling at the 880,000-yuan price tag for the ice island tea king tree, only for this “High Tree Empress” from Yiwu to break the record.
The Yiwu high tree “Tea Empress” is relatively unknown to many. Yiwu is not short of good tea, with high trees found in places like Mint Pond, Heavenly Gate Mountain, and Copper River, all fetching high prices. If selecting a “Tea Empress,” it might not necessarily come from Hundred Flowers Pond. The intention behind this agreement is quite clear, and as bystanders to the “sky-high tea” spectacle, we're just here for the show.
There are also many sky-high priced teas in Yiwu. Every year, the teas from the annual Yiwu Tea Competition are auctioned off. In 2018, the gold medal winner from the Lushui Cave was sold for 200,000 yuan per kilogram, making the Lushui Cave name famous with this astronomical figure.