Zhou. The Sorcerer of Qian Jia Zhai
Zhou. The Sorcerer of Qian Jia Zhai
Meeting
We first met Master Zhou in the spring of 2018, when Master Li took us to visit him in
We immediately fell in love with the breathtaking nature of Qian Jia Zhai, but with Master Zhou — it wasn’t love at first sight. He was very busy and gave us only a small share of his time and attention, as the harvest season was just beginning and, frankly, he had more pressing matters. Moreover, it was “pre-COVID” China, a time when top masters and farmers were doing very well, and new potential clients were far from being a priority.
We tasted several of his teas — all of them were good, though the prices he named were rather high. But one of those teas made an incredible impression on us. We had never tried anything like it before — and honestly, we still haven’t. You probably know that tea well. It is our Pineapple Express, a sheng puerh processed with sun-fixation. It immediately became clear that Zhou was an exceptionally skilled master. We negotiated a bit, and after getting a fair price for what would become Pineapple Express, we decided to focus solely on that tea.
This is how our first meeting with Master Zhou ended
Second meeting
Six years passed before we met Master Zhou again. A lot had changed since then: post-COVID Yunnan had calmed its ambitions, while we — once dreamers with big plans — had become dreamers with big plans and two tons of top-quality farmer’s tea sold in 2024 alone.
After hearing about our results from his colleagues, Master Zhou invited us to visit him again. Our second meeting took place in November 2024. We spent an entire week with the master — staying in his home, drinking incredible tea, enjoying the most delicious homemade food, and immersing ourselves in the magical world of Qian Jia Zhai.
During that time, we developed the tea selections that will become a permanent part of our assortment and managed to purchase several aged exclusives from the master’s personal reserves. Zhou offered us fair prices and accepted our pre-order for the 2025 harvest.
— Hello everyone! My name is Zhou Qian, I was born in 1980, and I’m from Qian Jia Zhai (at the foot of the mountain). I grew up here and have spent my entire life in this place. My ancestors and grandfather always lived here and made their living by cultivating tea.
From the interview with master Zhou.
My grandfather’s generation used to transport tea leaves on horseback to Myanmar (Burma) and other regions, trading them for handcrafted goods. That’s how they managed to make a living — providing for and raising our family.
Until 2004, I studied tea production under a well-known master from Kunming. That was when I mastered the technique of making Shai Hong and Sheng teas with sun fixation — like our tea “Spring Aroma” (Shai Sheng Pineapple Express). Since then, I’ve been learning continuously — and I’m still devoted to this craft today.
Terroir
Together with the master, we visited his main tea gardens and wandered along the edges of the Zhenyuan Reserve forests, filled with ancient wild tea trees. Master Zhou’s raw material base is incredibly diverse, yet almost entirely focused on the local gardens and forests. He very rarely buys raw material from other tea-growing regions of Yunnan — and it’s no surprise why. Qian Jia Zhai is truly unique — a natural treasure that, through its diversity, essentially contains several distinct tea terroirs within itself.
Qian Jia Zhai is one of the eight tea-producing regions of Zhenyuan County. Located on the southwestern slope of the Ailao Mountain range, at an average altitude of over 1,800 meters above sea level, the area features a highly complex terrain with pronounced vertical climatic variations. As a result, three distinct climate zones — tropical, subtropical, and temperate — coexist here.
The average annual temperature is around 17°C, and the mountain slopes are almost constantly shrouded in misty clouds. About 80% of Qian Jia Zhai’s territory is covered by dense forests, a large portion of which belongs to the famous Zhenyuan Evergreen Broadleaf Forest Reserve.
It is in these forests that the world’s largest primordial plant community dominated by wild ancient tea trees (Camellia taliensis) can be found. Currently, there are over 10,000 wild tea trees aged over 100 years, including the oldest and largest wild tea tree known to date. Its estimated age is about 2,700 years — standing 25 meters tall, with a trunk diameter of 1.2 meters and a crown spanning 20 meters. This tree is known as “Qian Jia Zhai No. 1” or “The Tea King.” All of this makes Qian Jia Zhai one of the cradles of the world’s tea trees.
— To be honest, working with tea is what truly makes me happy. As the old saying goes, a cup of tea is a great thing for a long time. Tea brings people together, offering a sense of connection with nature, warmth, and joy. Wherever you go, you’ll always find tea and friends — and between them, no barriers exist. They all drink tea and speak heart to heart. The art of tea is a genuine pleasure for me.
From the interview with master Zhou.
The tea region itself is centered around four main villages — Heping, Santai, Guoji, and Jiujia. On the mountain slopes surrounding these villages, alongside the wild forests, lie numerous tea gardens where cultivated tea trees of Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica with dominating of large-leaf varietals such as Mengku and Fengqing. Some of the tea groves consist of ancient trees aged approximately 100–400 years, while in certain places you can still find large, old cultivated trees estimated to be 400–600 years old. These impressive trees, often 6 to 12 meters tall, sometimes grow right in the vegetable gardens among village homes.
Master Zhou has quite an extensive raw material base, yet almost all of it is concentrated directly within Qian Jia Zhai. This region is rich in distinct and expressive terroirs, which — and we are deeply convinced of this — will one day earn their own recognition and renown in the tea world. The master owns several tea gardens and rents a few additional plots. The youngest tea trees in his gardens are around 80 years old, while the majority range from 150 to 300 years. He also purchases top-quality raw material from other tea gardens in the area. But the most fascinating part is something else entirely — the wild tea leaves gathered from the primeval forests of Qian Jia Zhai.
— Since the time of our ancestors, tea has been a means of survival and a way to sustain life. Speaking of our generation, it has already become a part of our culture and tradition. I hope we can turn tea into a symbol of our spirit, something that will be passed down from generation to generation. After all, tea benefits both physical and mental health, so I truly hope that my children will carry on and preserve this idea.
From the interview with master Zhou.
Almost all the surrounding forests where ancient wild tea trees grow are vast protected reserves, strictly guarded by the state. Entry to most of them is prohibited. For instance, the area where the oldest and largest known tea tree growshas been closed to visitors since 2018.
However, there is a local tradition that helps balance the social ecosystem of the area. Every spring, the local authorities grant permission to the poorest villagers from the Yi and Lahu ethnic minorities to harvest leaves from wild tea trees in designated sections of the reserve.
They sell this raw material to a few of the best local tea masters — Zhou being one of them. This provides an additional source of income for the poor villagers, as collecting and selling tea leaves from these forests has been a traditional part of their livelihood for generations. A complete closure of the reserve would have severely affected their already difficult living conditions.
Thus, they are allowed to harvest leaves in specific protected areas from wild tea trees aged up to about 1,500 years. Raw material of this level enables the master to create not just tea — but truly unique works of art.
Puerh Olympics
In 2018, the master created a sheng puerh from a single ancient wild tea tree. That same year, this tea won the so-called “Puerh Olympics” — the most prestigious competition among puerh tea masters. His white, red, and sheng puerh teas made from the ancient wild trees of the reserve are true masterpieces of tea craftsmanship, each with a bright and distinctive terroir. This tea seems to divide your entire tea journey into “before” and “after,” offering an experience you will never forget.
— If you could make only one type of tea, and no others — which one would it be?
From the interview with master Zhou.
— If I had to choose and make only one type of tea, it would be sheng puerh. I’m quite good at making it, and the demand for sheng puerh is higher.
— And if we look at it not from a business perspective, but from a personal feeling — which one would it be then?
— Then it would be shai sheng “Spring Aroma” (Pineapple Express). I learned to make this tea from a famous master back when no one else was making it yet, when it wasn’t popular at all. It’s a very local story.
— And what about it’s taste?
— To be honest, when I first started making shai sheng puerh, I didn’t really understand its taste. But over time, as I drank it more and more, I began to discover its rich and full-bodied flavor, its pure aroma, and that special feeling of sunlight unspoiled by any unnecessary notes. So I grew to truly love this tea — and I’ve kept it that way ever since.
— When did you start making this tea?
— I started making this tea in 2004.
Treasure
Our second meeting with master Zhou can truly be called one of the most important moments on our tea journey. We gained not only a friend and partner — but, most importantly, the opportunity to share with you a genuine tea treasure.
Master Zhou’s teas
Each of these teas is truly unique — and each deserves your attention:
the floral elegance of the sheng and shaihong made from rare purple tea leaves, the incomparable refinement of the white and sheng crafted from the buds and leaves of ancient wild tea trees, the bright fruitiness of the sun-fixed sheng, and the cozy, nostalgic warmth of the classic gong ting with its Menghai-style wodui fermentation.
Full video interview
In the autumn of 2024, we had a very special conversation with Zhou at his home — and we recorded it for you. You can watch the full version below.
