Lancang Ancient Tea

In ripe pu'er circles, you'll often hear people speak of "Menghai character and Lancang character." The latter refers to the ripe tea style of Lancang Ancient Tea. The company started as a county tea factory at the foot of Jingmai Mountain and is now listed in Hong Kong, and its product numbers 0085 and 0081 have become common currency among ripe tea fans.

Where Is Lancang Ancient Tea From?

Lancang Ancient Tea is headquartered in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan. The listed company's full name is Pu'er Lancang Ancient Tea Co., Ltd., stock code 6911. Its history has several milestones, described slightly differently in different sources:

• 1966: Lancang County ran a tea training course on Jingmai Mountain and set up the Jingmai Tea Factory. The company counts this year as the start of its brand. Its current chairman, Du Chunyi, was 15 at the time and a student in the course.
• 1975–1998: Du Chunyi worked at the Lancang County Tea Factory as deputy director in charge of production technology (according to company information published by the Yunnan Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission).
• Restructuring and founding: after the county tea factory ran into difficulties, Du Chunyi led longtime employees in raising their own funds to take it over. There are two versions of the founding year: most media say 1998, while the CSRC information records the limited company as founded in September 2002. The usual understanding is that restructuring began around 1998 and company registration was completed in 2002.
• 2006: "Lancang County Ancient Tea Co., Ltd." was renamed "Lancang Ancient Tea Co., Ltd."
• December 22, 2023: it listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and was dubbed "the first pu'er stock" by the media.

Lancang Ancient Tea and Jingmai Mountain

Jingmai and Mangjing in Lancang County have large areas of ancient tea gardens growing under the forest canopy. The Ancient Tea Plantations of Jingmai Mountain were inscribed on the World Heritage List in September 2023, the world's first tea-themed World Heritage site. From the training course to the tea factory to the company, Lancang Ancient Tea has always been based around Jingmai Mountain and Lancang County, with ancient tea gardens in Jingmai, Bangwai, and elsewhere as important sources of material, and its brand image is closely tied to Jingmai Mountain. The company also has a "Yanleng" product line, named after Pa Yanleng, the ancestor in Blang legend who led his people to plant tea in Jingmai and Mangjing. For the related culture, see Blang Tea Customs.

Signature Products

According to reports around its listing, Lancang Ancient Tea's products fall into three lines: the "1966" series is its classic pu'er and main source of revenue, while "Tea Mama" (Chamama) and "Yanleng" target different groups of consumers. The ones tea drinkers know best are a few number-named core products in the 1966 series:

What Are 0081 and 0085?

0085 and 0081 are both ripe teas and Lancang Ancient Tea's two most famous product numbers.

• 0085: according to a story told in the tea world, in 1999 a European buyer visited Lancang and commissioned a batch of ripe tea, and Lancang Ancient Tea fermented it from old-tree tea from Jingmai Mountain. That batch was the first generation of 0085. At a time when ripe tea mostly used coarse, mature material, making ripe tea from old-tree spring tea was unusual, and 0085 made its name that way. New generations have been released every few years since.
• 0081: launched a little later than 0085. It's officially described as made mainly from high-mountain ecological old-tree tea, positioned as more affordable than 0085, and is one of the ripe teas tea drinkers most often reach for every day.

These numbers look like recipe codes, but they don't follow the state-era "year + grade + factory" system. The company's public information doesn't explain the digits one by one. Some tea drinkers decode them the way they would recipe codes, but take that with a grain of salt. For reading recipe codes, see 7542, 8582, 7572: The Stories Behind Pu'er's Classic Recipes.

Lancang-Style Ripe Tea

What tea drinkers call "Lancang character" usually refers to the style of Lancang Ancient Tea's ripe tea: fermentation that doesn't aim for the heaviest level, a deep, bright red liquor, a thick, smooth, sweet mouthfeel, and an aroma carrying the particular notes of Jingmai material. It's a flavor impression, and there are still differences between years and batches. To compare ripe teas from different regions and factories, read How to Brew Ripe Tea and Fermentation Levels in Ripe Pu'er, then brew a few side by side and taste for yourself.

What to Check When Buying

• Product number and production date: 0085 and 0081 have new batches every year, and the packaging shows the production date. Go by the date for the year.
• Format: the same number comes as large cakes, small bricks, tuocha, square tablets, and more. Different pressing means a different pace of aging.
• Source: buy from official channels or tea shops you know, and ask about storage for secondhand older batches.

FAQ

Where is Lancang Ancient Tea from? It's headquartered in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Pu'er City, Yunnan, and listed in Hong Kong on December 22, 2023, under stock code 6911.

What did Lancang Ancient Tea grow out of? Its roots go back to a 1966 tea training course and the Jingmai Tea Factory on Jingmai Mountain, and it was formed by restructuring the later Lancang County Tea Factory.

Is 0085 raw or ripe? Ripe. It's officially said to have been launched in 1999, made from old-tree spring tea from Jingmai Mountain.

What's the difference between 0081 and 0085? Both are ripe teas. 0085 is built around old-tree spring tea from Jingmai Mountain; 0081 is made mainly from high-mountain ecological old-tree tea and is more affordable.

How is Lancang Ancient Tea connected to Jingmai Mountain? The company started from a training course and tea factory on Jingmai Mountain, and ancient tea gardens around Jingmai and Mangjing are important sources of its material.