The Liu Family

I first came to know the Liu family at the very beginning of my journey in tea. In those early days, my father brought us to the Fangcun Tea Market in Guangzhou — a place where tea is not only traded, but shared across tables and generations. Through merchants he had long known, we were introduced to different families and their mountain traditions. There, Liu Yuan Hui’s younger brother was running the small family shop selling Anxi oolong produced by their family and neighbouring farmers. We were of similar age and spoke easily from the beginning. During the first harvest season after we met, he invited us to Longjuan.

What was meant to be a brief visit became half a month. We lived in their home, followed the picking in the fields, and stayed in the processing room to observe each stage of making. It was there that I understood why his brother had introduced him simply as “the village chief.” At the time, Liu Yuan Hui was indeed serving as the head of the village — the youngest mayor in its history. The name remained, even after he stepped down. I have continued to call him that ever since. Through those days, I came to know not only Liu Yuan Hui, but the entire family and many of the villagers.

Season after season, year after year, I returned to the mountains. Trust formed gradually — between harvests, between cups, between shared work.

Nestled in the heart of Anxi County, Longjuan is a mountainous township shaped by nature itself. Forests rise in layered tiers, winding paths trace the slopes, and the land ascends gently from valley floor to ridge. In our village, our tea gardens do not impose themselves upon the earth; they are woven seamlessly into it. Ancient trees stand among the tea bushes, and the wind drifts first through the canopy before settling delicately on the leaves below. This is not a uniform plantation, but a living mountain ecosystem, where every row of tea follows the natural contours of the land.

The elder

Here, the Liu family has tended these mountains for generations. Their roots in Longjuan stretch back to the Qing Dynasty, when mei zhan oolong was the family's primary focus. At that time, Mr. Liu Cheng Quan was the village's math teacher, yet during the harvest, he would leave the classroom to return home and help with picking and tea making, as would all his students returning to their families. Following a long tradition, he kept meticulous records of every planting, every harvest, and every stage of tea production.

The mayor

Today, Liu Yuan Hui still consults these records, traving the work of this ancestors and carrying forward their knowledge. Born into this lineage, Liu Yuan Hui grew up between tea terraces and roasting rooms. Propagation, pruning, shaking, fixation, rolling, and roasting became part of his daily rhythm. His mastery of Tieguanyin comes from observation and patience: sensing the leaf at its peak, knowing precisely when to close the fire, and allowing the tea the time it needs to rest and reveal its full character.

In 2005, the family began cultivating a previously untouched mountainside — land never farmed for grain and untouched by chemical fertilisers. Rather than clear and level the slopes, they worked with the natural contours, preserving native vegetation, restoring soil vitality, and planting gradually. Tea trees follow the mountain lines, while forest trees remain among them, allowing the landscape to breathe.

Since 2023, the mayor has strengthened his vision with the guidance of Master Weng Jian Ye, a figure whose reputation is woven into the very fabric of Anxi's tea heritage. Master Weng first gained recognition as a key contributor to the formulation of the Anxi oolong tea standards, shaping the benchmarks by which excellence is measured. Following a distinguished 15-year tenure as deputy director of the Anxi Tea Factory, he has brought his expertise to the mayor's farm, lending his mastery particularly to the art of roasting. Alongside this, he continues to share his knowledge as a visiting professor at the Anxi Tea College, nurturing the next generation of tea artisans and ensuring that the legacy of Anxi oolong is preserved with care and devotion.

Today, the estate spans 2,500 mu (approximately 167 hectares): 1,500 mu of forest (100 ha), 250 mu of phoebe zhennan (17 ha), and 700 mu of ecological tea garden (47 ha). Fifteen kilometres of mountain paths connect the slopes, while more than 30,000 companion trees — including yew, podocarpus, and red osmanthus — mingle with the tea, alongside 100 mu (6,67 ha) of camellia oleifera. Tea and forest coexist in harmony, forming a rich and diverse landscape rather than a monoculture.

The family's principal cultivars include hong xin Tieguanyin, jin guanyin, and mei zhan, complemented by huang jin gui, shui xian, rou gui, and dan cong. Smaller plantings of wu dan, mao xie, da ye oolong, tao ren, and fo shou are carefully matched to their elevation and orientation, allowing the mountain itself to shape the character of each tea.

Cultivation follows a restrained, ecological philosophy. Organic fertilisers restore the soil's vitality, while no herbicides are used; ground cover suppresses weeds naturally. Biodiversity is encouraged to balance insect populations and sustain the ecosystem. Every step aligns with national green food production standards. The focus is not short-term yield, but long-term soil health and the authentic mountain character of the tea.

The garden has received several distinctions, including:

• the 2022 "Top Ten Tea Gardens" of Anxi recognition
• the 2021 National Demonstration Unit for Green, High-Quality and Efficient Tea Development
• the 2021 Fujian Provincial Standardised High-Quality Agricultural Product Demonstration
• the 2020 Outstanding Tea Garden Management Award

It has also participated in the Anxi Exhibition Site of the Minnan Cultural Ecological Protection Area and in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Project for Traditional Anxi Tieguanyin Processing Techniques. In Longjuan, Tieguanyin is not shaped to follow passing trends. It matures slowly within forested mountains — guided by fire, by patience, and by time itself. And, at Jingteashop, every sip of our oolong carries the echoes of Longjuan's mountains, the rhythm of the seasons, and the enduring dedication of a family devoted to tea, craft, and the land.