My name is Laosen, and close tea friends have called me that for quite a few years.
If there is one thing I can be proud of, it is this: I have spent twenty years in the tea mountains of Yunnan.
In the first few years, I was buying tea. I followed locals over mountains and into villages, tasting tea from all sizes of gardens. Back then, I was young and believed every word spoken on the tea mountain was true. Later, as I saw more, I realized things were not that simple.
One thing I remember clearly. One year, the host brought out two cups of tea, saying they were from the same forest, but the price differed by nearly ten times. I sat down and tasted them side by side—to be honest, there was a difference in quality, but not as mystical as the story suggested. From then on, I developed a habit: the quality of tea is only determined by my own tasting; what others say is just for reference.
I have seen tea merchants put terrace tea into ancient tree tea bags, seen fresh leaves from the same garden told as stories from three different mountains, and seen packaging that boasts "spiritual energy" and "ancient methods" with prices that can shock you. It is not that these people are bad, but this industry easily makes money by telling stories—the more mystical the story, the higher the price they dare to set.
Gradually, I came to understand one thing: what this industry lacks is not more mystical stories, but people who can explain tea clearly.
So this website came to be. I want to share what I have experienced, tasted, and repeatedly verified over twenty years in the simplest way: what forest tea is, how it differs from terrace tea, what processing methods are correct, what claims are just bluffing, and what price range corresponds to what kind of product. If I explain clearly, you can avoid wasting money, and my accumulated experience will not have been in vain.
Let me also set a few rules for myself, as a way to be transparent with you:
First, I only talk about things I have personally tasted, visited, and confirmed. If I have not tasted a mountain, I would rather not mention it.
Second, I do not invent titles or borrow certifications. I have no impressive titles to boast about, and please do not easily trust the titles printed on packaging.
Third, I do not talk about curative effects or exaggerate miraculous benefits. Tea is a daily beverage, not medicine. If someone guarantees you that drinking this will do something, you can just walk away.
Fourth, I do not make absolute statements. Tea has individual differences; even the same forest can vary. My experience is a reference, not a standard answer.
When it comes to tea, in the end, what you drink is honesty. Twenty years ago, I started running the tea mountains for good tea; now I write these words to explain good tea to those who understand.
I am Laosen, and you are welcome to visit often. Every article here starts with a cup of real tea.