{"title":"Guniangzhai 42","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGuniangzhai 42 is a small boutique run from up on Nannuoshan. They produce their own tea from the family plot in Guniangzhai and source tea from friends (e.g. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/products\/2026-laomane\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Laoman'e\"\u003eLaoman’e\u003c\/a\u003e) and family (e.g. Bama[link]) across Yunnan. They mainly do small runs and the majority of their customers are tea collectors who live in large cities across the mainland.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGuniangzhai 42 is a second-generation operation run by CJ and his wife Xiaotiantian. CJ was born and raised in Guniangzhai and is a member of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hani_people\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHani people\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Xiaotiantian, on the other hand, relocated from Chongqing. CJ once said of himself: “For recreation I drink puerh, smoke cigarettes, and play flight simulator”. Xiaotiantian, alternatively, has a strong fashion sense and collects \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Qizhuang\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eManfu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e clothing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHaving taken over from CJ’s parents, CJ and Xiaotiantian have not only spread the business beyond Guniangzhai but also dramatically increased the quality. In fact, CJ is focused and ambitious in this regard: he’s always trying to improve his tea. Even though he’s been at it for decades already, he always has new agroforestry insights from his cousin in the Tea Research Institute in Menghai town or new puerh processing techniques with from his friend on the other side of Yunnan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow did they come to know Blue Hat? That’s a longer story involving a number of coincidences on mountain roads in Yunnan, but that’s for another time. What matters is, like \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/collections\/yinji\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Yinji\"\u003eYinji\u003c\/a\u003e, their emphasis the good stuff: CJ and Xiaotiantian have bet on quality and you can try the result for yourself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"2026-weidong","title":"2026 Weidong","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDwarfed 150-200 year old trees\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2026 Spring first pick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSourced by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e, Produced by Yang Jiankang\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e sourced this tea from an old classmate, Yang Jiankang. The leaves come from the oldest trees in Weidong, all of which are on the same plot as the king tree (i.e. the oldest tree in Weidong) in ancient tea gardens. The trees in Weidong were dwarfed many years ago but, juding from the trunk size, they are around 150-200 years old. This tea is from the first spring picking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeidong, known in Hani as ‘Meng Noy’, has been sold by a few western vendors in the recent years despite being more remote and unknown than many other Bulang villages. Weidong's history is somewhat uncertain. The current settlement was founded by Hani settlers from Laobanzhang who, as legend has it, brought the genetics of their tea trees with them.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRegardless, the tea is tasty. It has fast-onset sweetness and huigan alongside both the typical Bulang bite (a triangle of bitterness, minerality, and astringency) and the typical Bulang fragrance (animalistic and leathery). The fragrance is straightforward and punchy like a dashu tea (aka “big trees” aka “大树”) even though it also has the aftertaste, huigan, mouthfeel and overall strength of a gushu (aka “ancient trees” aka “古树”). Perhaps the mix of gushu and dashu features is due to the dwarfing of the trees.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Hat Tea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56722962448709,"sku":null,"price":80.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1014\/8364\/3205\/files\/Weidong.png?v=1779367862"},{"product_id":"2026-laomane","title":"2026 Laoman'e","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e300-600 year old trees\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2026 Spring first pick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSourced by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e, produced by Yu Mekan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWrapper design by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/moriz.work\" title=\"https:\/\/moriz.work\" target=\"_blank\"\u003emoriz.work\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e sourced this tea from a friend of a friend in Laoman'e, Yu Mekan. This tea comes from 300-600 year old trees in an ancient tea garden neighboring the king tree behind the rather famous Laoman’e monastery. The gardens are usually picked and weeded twice a year: once in spring and once in fall. In 2026, there was one spring picking and there probably won’t be a fall picking. This tea comes from the first (and only) picking in spring.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLaoman'e, a \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bulang_people\"\u003eBulang\u003c\/a\u003e village in the center of Bulangshan, is well-known for its power, bitterness, and deep musk and leatheriness. In this tea, the animalistic character and bitterness lurk in the background while the foreground has a cleaner, complex floral fragrance. The mouthfeel, huigan and qi are intense.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTogether with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/products\/2026-weidong\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Weidong\"\u003eWeidong\u003c\/a\u003e, the teas show two faces of Bulangshan: this tea is made from gigantic old trees from a famous village while the Weidong is made from dwarfed trees from a lesser-known village. Refined on the one side, raw on the other, both teas are powerful.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Hat Tea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57269189706053,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1014\/8364\/3205\/files\/Laomane.png?v=1779367862"},{"product_id":"2026-bama","title":"2026 Bama","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e300-600 year old trees\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2026 Spring first pick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSourced by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e, Produced by Ma Xiaobo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWrapper design by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/moriz.work\" title=\"https:\/\/moriz.work\" target=\"_blank\"\u003emoriz.work\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e sourced this tea from Ma Xiaobo, a maternal cousin of CJ’s who lives in Shitou Laozhai. This tea comes from ancient tea gardens with around 80 ancient trees aged between 300 and 600 years old on Xiabo’s 20 mu plot. The gardens are picked and weeded once a year, and this tea comes from the first (and only) spring picking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBama Zhengshan (拔玛正山), often confused with the nearby village Bamazhai (拔玛寨), is a prestigious Nannuoshan tea region southwest of Shitou Laozhai (石头老寨) with ideal conditions for tea (remoteness, forest density, soil composition, elevation, sun exposure, and temperature regulation from nearby streams).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe result is a well-balanced tea. It builds sweetness and fragrance across brews and comes across fruity and alpine. It has low bitterness, aside from a quick pinch at the sides of the mouth, and mild astringency that you can feel way up in your gums. Together with medium thickness and a spooky huigan that seems to phase through the upper palate, the tea has an entertaining mouthfeel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile this tea has a rounder fragrance and more multifaceted texture, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/products\/guniangzhai\"\u003eGuniangzhai\u003c\/a\u003e--farther north on Nannuoshan--has a more composed mix of florality and minerality. Together they show how different teas can be, even when produced by relatives on the same mountain.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Hat Tea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57517841908037,"sku":"2025-YJ-VK-200-1","price":150.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1014\/8364\/3205\/files\/Bama.png?v=1779367853"},{"product_id":"2026-guniangzhai","title":"2026 Guniangzhai","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e200-600 year old trees\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2026 Spring first pick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eProduced by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWrapper design by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/moriz.work\" title=\"https:\/\/moriz.work\" target=\"_blank\"\u003emoriz.work\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/pages\/partners\/guniangzhai-42\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | Guniangzhai 42\"\u003eGuniangzhai 42\u003c\/a\u003e produced this tea from 200-600 year old trees on their family plot in Guniangzhai, which has over one hundred ancient trees on 52 mu scattered throughout the forest. The plot is weeded and picked once a year and usually is covered with tall undergrowth. This tea comes from the first (and only) picking in spring.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGuniangzhai (meaning “Girls’ Village”) is a \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hani_people\"\u003eHani\u003c\/a\u003e village on Nannuoshan west of the well-known Banpolaozhai. Guniangzhai’s plots, however, are on the other side of\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e Banpolaozhai to the north east. These plots are some of the farthest north on Nannuoshan and have a quite different character from \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/products\/2026-bama\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | 2026 Bama\"\u003eBama\u003c\/a\u003e, for instance, one of the farthest to the south.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn contrast to \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/products\/2026-bama\" title=\"Blue Hat Tea | 2026 Bama\"\u003eBama\u003c\/a\u003e’s power and presence, Guniangzhai is composed and satisfying. It has a floral fragrance with a resinous herbal note that, when pushed, can be mushroomy. It has a quick and steady huigan and a long, subtle, mouth-coating aftertaste. Throughout a session, the tea remains crisp and clear and feels comfortable but not overwhelming. What starts as low bitterness and astringency builds to a lively tea supported by minerality.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blue Hat Tea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59033915261253,"sku":null,"price":110.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1014\/8364\/3205\/files\/Guniangzhai.png?v=1779367862"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1014\/8364\/3205\/collections\/gnz42_nude.png?v=1787161088","url":"https:\/\/blue-hat-tea.com\/collections\/guniangzhai.oembed","provider":"Blue Hat Tea","version":"1.0","type":"link"}