{"id":14451,"date":"2025-10-20T13:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T11:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oneteatree.co\/zhou-the-sorcerer-of-qian-jia-zhai\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T18:31:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:31:52","slug":"zhou-the-sorcerer-of-qian-jia-zhai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oneteatree.co\/en\/zhou-the-sorcerer-of-qian-jia-zhai\/","title":{"rendered":"Zhou. The Sorcerer of Qian Jia Zhai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meeting<\/h2>\n\n

We first met Master Zhou in the spring of 2018, when Master Li took us to visit him in Qian Jia Zhai<\/g>. Li and Zhou are long-time friends and partners. We immediately fell in love with the breathtaking nature of Qian Jia Zhai,<\/strong> but with Master Zhou \u2014 it wasn\u2019t 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 \u201cpre-COVID\u201d China, a time when top masters and farmers were doing very well, and new potential clients were far from being a priority. <\/p>\n\n

We tasted several of his teas \u2014 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 \u2014 and honestly, we still haven\u2019t. You probably know that tea well. It is our Pineapple Express<\/a><\/strong>, 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. <\/p>\n\n

This is how our first meeting with Master Zhou ended<\/p>\n\n

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Second meeting<\/h2>\n\n

Six years passed before we met Master Zhou again. A lot had changed since then: post-COVID Yunnan<\/strong> had calmed its ambitions, while we \u2014 once dreamers with big plans \u2014 had become dreamers with big plans and two tons of top-quality farmer\u2019s tea sold in 2024 alone. <\/p>\n\n

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 \u2014 staying in his home, drinking incredible tea, enjoying the most delicious homemade food, and immersing ourselves in the magical world of Qian Jia Zhai. <\/p>\n\n

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\u2019s personal reserves. Zhou offered us fair prices and accepted our pre-order for the 2025 harvest. <\/p>\n\n

\u2014 Hello everyone! My name is Zhou Qian, I was born in 1980, and I\u2019m 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. My grandfather\u2019s generation used to transport tea leaves on horseback to Myanmar (Burma) and other regions, trading them for handcrafted goods. That\u2019s how they managed to make a living \u2014 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 \u2014 like our tea \u201cSpring Aroma\u201d (Shai Sheng Pineapple Express<\/a>). Since then, I\u2019ve been learning continuously \u2014 and I\u2019m still devoted to this craft today. <\/strong><\/p>From the interview with master Zhou.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n

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Terroir<\/h2>\n\n

Together with the master, we visited his main tea gardens and wandered along the edges of the Zhenyuan<\/strong> Reserve forests, filled with ancient wild tea trees. Master Zhou\u2019s 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<\/strong> \u2014 and it\u2019s no surprise why. Qian Jia Zhai<\/strong> is truly unique \u2014 a natural treasure that, through its diversity, essentially contains several distinct tea terroirs within itself. <\/p>\n\n

Qian Jia Zhai<\/strong> is one of the eight tea-producing regions of Zhenyuan<\/strong> County. Located on the southwestern slope of the Ailao Mountain<\/strong> 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 \u2014 tropical, subtropical, and temperate \u2014 coexist here. <\/p>\n\n

The average annual temperature is around 17\u00b0C, and the mountain slopes are almost constantly shrouded in misty clouds. About 80% of Qian Jia Zhai\u2019s<\/strong> territory is covered by dense forests, a large portion of which belongs to the famous Zhenyuan<\/strong> Evergreen Broadleaf Forest Reserve. <\/p>\n\n

It is in these forests that the world\u2019s largest primordial plant community dominated by wild ancient tea trees (Camellia taliensis<\/strong>) 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 \u2014 standing 25 meters tall, with a trunk diameter of 1.2 meters and a crown spanning 20 meters. This tree is known as \u201cQian Jia Zhai No. 1<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cThe Tea King.<\/strong>\u201d All of this makes Qian Jia Zhai<\/strong> one of the cradles of the world\u2019s tea trees. <\/p>\n\n

\u2014 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\u2019ll always find tea and friends \u2014 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. <\/strong><\/p>From the interview with master Zhou.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n

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The tea region itself is centered around four main villages \u2014 Heping, Santai, Guoji,<\/strong> and Jiujia<\/strong>. On the mountain slopes surrounding these villages, alongside the wild forests, lie numerous tea gardens where cultivated tea trees of Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica <\/strong> with dominating of large-leaf varietals such as Mengku<\/strong> and Fengqing<\/strong>. Some of the tea groves consist of ancient trees aged approximately 100\u2013400 years, while in certain places you can still find large, old cultivated trees estimated to be 400\u2013600 years old. These impressive trees, often 6 to 12 meters tall, sometimes grow right in the vegetable gardens among village homes. <\/p>\n\n

Master Zhou has quite an extensive raw material base, yet almost all of it is concentrated directly within Qian Jia Zhai<\/strong>. This region is rich in distinct and expressive terroirs, which \u2014 and we are deeply convinced of this \u2014 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 \u2014 the wild tea leaves gathered from the primeval forests of Qian Jia Zhai. <\/p>\n\n

<\/span><\/span>\u2014 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. <\/strong><\/p>From the interview with master Zhou.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n

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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<\/strong> and Lahu<\/strong> ethnic minorities to harvest leaves from wild tea trees in designated sections of the reserve. <\/p>\n\n

They sell this raw material to a few of the best local tea masters \u2014 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. <\/p>\n\n

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 \u2014 but truly unique works of art. <\/p>\n\n

Puerh Olympics<\/h1>\n\n

In 2018, the master created a sheng puerh<\/strong> from a single ancient wild tea tree. That same year, this tea won the so-called \u201cPuerh Olympics\u201d \u2014 the most prestigious competition among puerh tea masters. His white<\/strong>, red<\/strong>, and sheng puerh<\/strong> 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 \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter,\u201d offering an experience you will never forget. <\/p>\n\n

\u2014 If you could make only one type of tea, and no others \u2014 which one would it be? \u2014 If I had to choose and make only one type of tea, it would be sheng puerh. I\u2019m quite good at making it, and the demand for sheng puerh is higher. <\/strong><\/span><\/strong>\u2014 And if we look at it not from a business perspective, but from a personal feeling \u2014 which one would it be then? \u2014 Then it would be shai sheng \u201cSpring Aroma\u201d (Pineapple Express). I learned to make this tea from a famous master back when no one else was making it yet, when it wasn\u2019t popular at all. It\u2019s a very local story. <\/strong><\/span><\/strong>\u2014 And what about it’s taste? \u2014 To be honest, when I first started making shai sheng puerh, I didn\u2019t 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 \u2014 and I\u2019ve kept it that way ever since. <\/strong><\/span><\/strong>\u2014 When did you start making this tea?\u2028 <\/strong>\u2014 I started making this tea in 2004.<\/strong><\/p>From the interview with master Zhou.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n

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Treasure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 but, most importantly, the opportunity to share with you a genuine tea treasure. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Master Zhou’s teas<\/h2>\n\n

Each of these teas is truly unique \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n

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\n \n PINEAPPLE EXPRESS '24 <\/a>\n <\/h6>\n \n

\n GIFT GUIDE '25<\/a>, \u0427\u0430\u0439<\/a>, \u0428\u0435\u043d \u041f\u0443\u0435\u0440<\/a> <\/p>\n \n

\n From <\/span>655.00 UAH<\/span><\/bdi><\/span> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n METEOR '18 <\/a>\n <\/h6>\n \n

\n \u0427\u0430\u0439<\/a>, \u0428\u0443 \u041f\u0443\u0435\u0440<\/a> <\/p>\n \n

\n From <\/span>230.00 UAH<\/span><\/bdi><\/span> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n EUPHORIA '24 <\/a>\n <\/h6>\n \n

\n GIFT GUIDE '25<\/a>, \u0427\u0430\u0439<\/a>, \u0428\u0435\u043d \u041f\u0443\u0435\u0440<\/a> <\/p>\n \n

\n From <\/span>850.00 UAH<\/span><\/bdi><\/span> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n SPECTRUM '24 <\/a>\n <\/h6>\n \n

\n \u0427\u0430\u0439<\/a>, \u0411\u0456\u043b\u0438\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0439<\/a> <\/p>\n \n

\n From <\/span>680.00 UAH<\/span><\/bdi><\/span> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n GALIBIER '19 <\/a>\n <\/h6>\n \n

\n \u0427\u0430\u0439<\/a>, \u0428\u0435\u043d \u041f\u0443\u0435\u0440<\/a> <\/p>\n \n

\n From <\/span>650.00 UAH<\/span><\/bdi><\/span> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n BISOUS BISOUS '24 <\/a>\n <\/h6>\n \n

\n \u0427\u0430\u0439<\/a>, \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043e\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0439<\/a> <\/p>\n \n

\n From <\/span>390.00 UAH<\/span><\/bdi><\/span> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Full video interview<\/h2>\n\n

In the autumn of 2024, we had a very special conversation with Zhou at his home \u2014 and we recorded it for you. You can watch the full version below. <\/p>\n\n

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