In the modern-day tea world, “wild tea trees” are a big debate. There has been an increasing number of tea vendors who use the mystique of wild tea trees as a marketing ploy. Thus, more tea enthusiasts start to believe that these teas are not exactly authentic.
The majority of ancient tea trees (Gu Shu) are grown in China’s Yunnan province. Yes, the pu-erh region!
Since they are not cultivated and due to their specific variety, they can reach heights of 5 to 10 meters, making the tea leaves difficult to harvest.
What Makes Wild Leaf Tea Unique And Sought After?
First, we would like to emphasize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with farmed tea. Tea has been cultivated for thousands of years. Thanks to cultivation and the diligent labor of tea farmers over time, we are able to enjoy a wide array of teas with diverse flavor profiles and aromas. While the processing method ultimately shapes a tea, the cultivar’s role is undeniable.
The appeal of wild tea is that it cannot do what cultivated tea can. Cultivated tea gives us consistent results. They provide us with that taste we crave. We’re sure we all have our favorite types of tea, which we stock up on, anticipating that same wonderful taste we are always used to!
Wild tea is unpredictable. It is an exceptional journey into the great unknown. What we will come out with — no one knows. The flavors of a single batch of wild tea are complex and unmatchable.
What Does Wild Tea Mean?
Wild tea is not just tea picked from untended tea bushes. It can refer to a few different varieties of tea, each in its own right, “wild.”
We should distinguish between Ye Sheng Cha (野生茶), which refers to botanically wild species (like Camellia Taliensis or Camellia Crassicolumna), and Huang Ye Cha (荒野茶), which refers to "Feral" tea trees that were once cultivated but have been left untended to grow wild.
Ancient Tea Trees ( Gu Shu – 古树)
These are tea trees that have been untended and not cultivated for hundreds of years, for many generations. They grow wildly across China’s terrain. Whether they were once cultivated or not is a debate. However, now they are as wild as can be. These tea trees are highly sought after by tea lovers and are often managed by minorities such as the Bulang or Dai people. They are not strictly "wild" in the sense of being lost in the jungle, but they are not pruned into bushes.
Forest Tea Trees
These tea trees are borderline wild or semi-wild. While ancient tea trees are scarce, some tea masters choose to cultivate their tea bushes in the “wild.” Meaning growing the tea trees more or less wildly in China’s forests instead of keeping them uniform on a tea plantation. These tea trees are usually allowed to grow freely, without the use of pesticides or other chemicals. They end up producing unique flavors close to ancient tea trees.
Minimally Pruned Tea Trees
Farmers plant these tea trees in more or less uniform rows, similar to a typical tea plantation. The most significant difference is that they are purposefully allowed to grow wild, developing their non-uniform characteristics. Biodiversity prevails, and the teas develop their unique tastes, a more extensive array of layers and depth. These tea farms are indeed harder to navigate as the tea bushes do not grow in uniform rows. The tea leaves are also much harder for the farmers to pick.
Natural Seeding Trees
The absolute majority of tea trees are cultivated by cuttings, and the amount of naturally seeded trees remains low. Natural seeding is a slow process, and such tea trees do not yield the 'safe' and stable results that farmers can achieve through cultivation. However, these tea bushes are a big part of the "will tea" industry and produce interesting and delicious teas. Cultivating teas via cuttings vs. natural seeding is like cloning vs. natural birth.
It surely requires more work to produce teas made from any of these wild tea trees (the foraging, laborious picking work, and travel all add up). The steeper price tag is indeed justified.
Ancient Tea Benefits
The following are some of the benefits of drinking tea made from wild tea leaves:
- teas made from ancient tea trees are void of any pesticides that are sometimes present in traditional tea farming (unless you are purchasing organic tea)
- their wild environment and strong roots mean they are typically more nutrient-rich than farmed tea
- the flavor profiles of ancient teas are far more complex and unique.
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ancient teas can be brewed many times and stay flavorful.