Video: Unwrapping and breaking down
This tea is known as “Ji Feng Yuan,” although it is actually part of the Heng Feng Yuan series. The discrepancy arises from a printing error in which the Chinese character “Heng” was mistakenly printed as “Ji.”
Produced by ChangTai Tea Factory in 2003 as a 400g raw (sheng) puerh cake under the Heng Feng Yuan line.
The dry leaf shows the expected darkening and compression of its age.
Tea Profile
At a glance: 2003 · Sheng (raw) puerh · 400g cake · ChangTai Tea Factory
The liquor is clear with an amber to light reddish hue. The taste is mellow and rounded, with softened bitterness and astringency giving way to gentle sweetness and aged woody notes. hui gan is present and steady.
Best for: Suitable for daily drinking or as an accessible example of early ChangTai production from this series.
Brewing Guide
Water: rolling boil, 100°C (212°F).
- Rinse teaware with hot water; use roughly 5g of tea for each 100ml of vessel.
- Give the leaves one quick rinse, then cover and rest about 10 minutes to wake them up.
- Begin with 10–15 second steeps, lengthening each by about 5 seconds.
- Decant fully into a sharing pitcher each time.
- Enjoy — good sheng keeps giving for many infusions.
Use this as a starting point, not a fixed formula. Play with pour height and speed, and notice how the tea answers in different weather and seasons. Learning to brew one tea well anywhere, anytime is the real craft.
Storage
Store in a cool, dry place with gentle airflow, out of direct light and away from strong smells such as cooking spices or smoke. If you plan to age it for years, breathable paper or clay storage suits puerh better than airtight plastic.
After more than two decades of aging in Guangzhou’s natural environment, the tea has developed a mature, settled character typical of early-2000s ChangTai mid-tier productions under southern natural storage.
A Note on Appearance
Not every cake shows these, but they can occur, especially in teas with more years of storage.
- Bamboo powder (zhu fen): a natural sign of traditional bamboo-husk packing. In Guangdong's warm, humid climate, tiny bamboo insects can make their home in the husk, nibbling the husk and cotton paper wrapper while leaving the tea itself untouched. What they leave behind is a fine powder, seen only on certain teas and more often on aged ones. It is harmless to hygiene; a few strokes with a clean toothbrush or soft brush before brewing is all it takes.
- Tea oil spots: yellowish spots may appear and can come from natural tea oils. They are not a flaw.
- Torn wrapper: small tears or holes in the cotton paper may happen during storage and handling. The tea inside is unaffected.
