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| This Jun Shan Yin Zhen was not grown on the “isle of the immortal”, which is the traditional and original location of the cultivation of this tea, but the shore of the Tong Ding lake, in which the island and the Jun Shan mountain of the same name are located. This fact is reflected markedly in the price of the tea, despite the fact that the tea plants from the shore of the lake are cuts from a tea plant from the original island. These two locations are only a few kilometres apart. Although the tea does not originate directly from the island it is considered an authentic Jun Shan Yin Zhen, since both the tea plants and the procedures used during harvesting and processing are identical in the two localities. The difference is in the height above sea level, the underlying soil and the absolute isolation of the island from the surrounding world, which cannot be achieved on the lakeshore. In addition, thanks to this island, which since time immemorial has been shrouded in mystery and legend, magical properties are attributed to the original tea. The surface area of Jun Shan island is small, and there are few locations suitable for the cultivation of tea, and so the harvested quantity each year is very limited. The high price of the original ensues from this fact, as is the response to the demand and the establishment of a tea farm close to the island on the lakeshore. Despite the above fact this is nevertheless a Jun Shan Yin Zhen tea, which is the definitive king of yellow teas, and despite the faster growth at the lower height above sea level, the lakeshore version retains all the attributes of the original from Jun Shan island. |
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