Worth its weight in gold, this tea is grown in a “Sacred Garden” hidden on a high Chinese plateau in Fujian. The garden maintains the tradition of “Imperial plucking”.
This tea was formally reserved for the Emperor and his dignitaries. Nothing was permitted to alter the purity from the time it was plucked to the Emperors bowl. Young virgins, wearing silk gloves and using gold scissors, delicately removed the silvery hirsute bud before drying them in golden baskets.
The buds are plucked at dawn, on only two days, selected according to minute botanical observations, should unanticipated winds and rains occur on these two days then the annual harvest is simply cancelled.
