Among our Private Reserve series, this tea is an exception. In reality, it does not come from our private storage, but from the personal collection of a retired official from the Wuyi Agriculture Bureau, thus providing precise traceability regarding the age and origin of the tea.
 
Ma Tou Yan, or Horse Head Rock, named for its topography, is located in the core production area of the Wuyi Mountains, at an altitude of 425 meters. Rou Gui from Ma Tou Yan is recognized as one of the most outstanding representatives of Wuyi Yancha, surpassed only by Rou Gui from Niu Lan Keng. A Yancha genuinely aged over ten years is not very common in the market, let alone an authentic one from such a prime location, making it undoubtedly a treasure.
 
Unlike many individual collectors, the former owner of this tea, during his career in the Agriculture Bureau, amassed sufficient knowledge on how to preserve his teas, resulting in exquisite mature flavors aged under proper conditions. In addition to the characteristic aging aroma, the dry leaves, in a prewarmed Gaiwan, also reveal a subtle green-plum-like sourness that typically appears in well-aged Yancha. This plum note pleasantly flickers in the thick liquor during the initial infusions, accompanied by its complex flavors fairly distinct from fresh Yancha. Throughout all infusions, whether the intense initial ones or as the tea mellows from the 5th steeping onwards, it always brings rich minerality, plenty of sweetness, and incredibly, even after aging more than a decade, the iconic spice of the Rou Gui varietal.
 
This tea is included in the value options of Rou Gui Parties.