From Junshan Island — a tea of lakes and legend
In early April, when the mists still cling to the surface of Dongting Lake, the tender buds of Junshan Island are ready for harvest. This tiny lake island, barely one square kilometer, is the ancestral home of the rarest yellow tea — Jūnshān Yínzhēn. Here, the combination of humid lake air, deep alluvial soil, and careful hand cultivation nurtures a tea of extraordinary finesse.
Zhou Xiang, our senior expert and a native of Hunan, has visited Junshan every spring for over a decade. For this lot, she worked with a family producer whose small garden of mature bushes yields just a few kilos of pure bud tea each year. The buds are plucked before the rain, while still tightly furled, and are handled with extreme care. After withering and a gentle pan-fire to arrest oxidation, they undergo mēn huáng — the signature yellowing step where the warm, moist leaves are gently smothered in cloth, allowing a slow, enzymatic transformation that softens the green astringency and builds a rich, nutty sweetness.
The 2025 season was kind: cool nights and mild days yielded buds of impeccable uniformity and downy silver tips. Zhou Xiang selected this micro-lot for its balance of floral lift and creamy depth, a classic Junshan character she describes as ‘lake mist in a cup’. The result is a tea of quiet luxury — one that rewards mindful, unhurried steeping.