Chen Sheng Hao, Lao Tong Zhi, Fu Jin, Small Brands, and Custom Teas

When you buy pu'er at a tea shop or online, besides old names like Dayi, Xiaguan, and Zhongcha, you'll see many brands that emerged after 2000. Most were founded by masters from the state-owned factories, tea merchants, or outside investors, and each has its signature products. This article introduces a few brands people often ask about, and also covers small brands and custom-pressed tea.

Chen Sheng Hao: Known for Lao Banzhang

Chen Sheng Hao belongs to Yunnan Chen Sheng Tea Co., Ltd., founded by Chen Shenghe, with its factory in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna. The company is generally recorded as founded around 2007. What the tea world mentions most is that Chen Sheng Hao partnered early with Lao Banzhang village to buy material, which made "Chen Sheng Hao Lao Banzhang" its signature, and the brand is often associated with Banzhang material.

Common products include high-end teas named for Lao Banzhang, benchmark teas such as "Bawang Qingbing" (Overlord Raw Cake) and "Chen Sheng No. 1," and single-mountain products from Naka, Nannuo Mountain, Yiwu, and elsewhere. Its zodiac series began in 2008 (Year of the Rat) and is now in its second cycle.

Lao Tong Zhi: Haiwan Tea's Signature

"Lao Tong Zhi" (Old Comrade) is a trademark of Haiwan Tea, not the name of a separate factory. Haiwan Tea's official website states that the company was co-founded in 1999 by Zou Bingliang and Lu Guoling; media reports say it was established in October 1999 in Anning, near Kunming. Both founders had served as directors of Menghai Tea Factory. Zou Bingliang was one of the key figures behind state-era ripe tea processing and classic recipes, and the two retired from Menghai Tea Factory around 1997.

Today Haiwan Tea is made up of Anning Haiwan (refining), Yunnan Haiwan (R&D and sales), and Menghai Haiwan (fermentation and primary processing), with two brands: "Lao Tong Zhi" and "Haiwan Liangpin." Lao Tong Zhi's product numbers follow the logic of recipe codes: Zou Bingliang explained in an interview that because the company was founded in 1999, most products start with 99. For example, in 9978, the "7" is the material grade and the "8" stands for the Haiwan factory. Other common products include ripe teas such as the 7588 ripe brick.

Fu Jin: Starting with Banzhang Tea

Fu Jin Tea's factory founding year can be worked out as 2005 from the "Factory 10th Anniversary Raw Cake" it released in 2015; the factory is in Menghai. Fu Jin's dealer materials say the brand "made its name with Da Bai Cai and Kong Que (Peacock)": the Banzhang series of 2000–2004, which came before the Fu Jin products that began in 2005. "Da Bai Cai" (Big Cabbage) is a very famous series of Banzhang teas among collectors; the relationship between who produced and who commissioned it is explained in Named Teas in Collecting Circles. Fu Jin's common products include Cha Wang (Tea King) raw cake, Early Spring raw cake, the Banzhang series, and Jin Yin (Gold Label). As for the founder's background, a common account in the tea world names Hong Kong tea figure Ho Kingshing; public information on this is limited, so take it as reference only.

How These Brands Differ from Dayi

• Origins: Dayi comes from Menghai Tea Factory, a state-owned factory founded in 1940, with its recipe code system and long-standing blend recipes; Chen Sheng Hao, Lao Tong Zhi, and Fu Jin are all private brands founded after 1999.
• Product focus: Dayi centers on blended qizi bing recipes; Chen Sheng Hao and Fu Jin made their names with Banzhang and other single-mountain material; Lao Tong Zhi continues state-era blending and ripe tea processing.
• Scale: Dayi has the largest output and distribution; these brands are smaller, but each has a steady following.

Other Common Brands

Besides Dayi, Xiaguan, Zhongcha, Lancang Ancient Tea, Six Famous Tea Mountains, and Yulin Gushu Tea, introduced here and in other articles, common names on the market include Puxiu from the Pu'er Tea Group, Jin Da Fu, Cai Nong Cha, Ba Jiao Ting, He He Chang, Qi Cai Yunnan, and Mengku Rongshi, plus a large number of small and mid-sized brands built around single mountains such as Yiwu, Bingdao, and Banzhang.

Can You Buy Tea from Small Brands?

Yes. Good tea doesn't only come from big factories. Small brands and independent tea merchants often make small batches of single-mountain, single-season tea, something big factories find hard to do. When choosing, look at these points:

1. Clear information: the region, village, picking season, and pressing date are all stated, which is more reliable than a vague claim of "thousand-year-old trees."
2. Tasting first: sellers willing to offer small samples are more confident in their tea. See Buy Small Amounts First.
3. Compliant labeling: tea sold in Taiwan must have Chinese labeling, country of origin, and an expiration date. See Package Labeling in Taiwan.
4. Reasonable price: small brands have no brand premium to rely on, so if the price is noticeably above the going rate for the region, ask why.

What Is Custom-Pressed Tea?

Custom-pressed tea (dingzhi cha) is a batch of tea that a merchant, teahouse, company, or individual orders from a factory and ships under their own product name and packaging. Even in the state-owned era, Hong Kong tea merchants commissioned teas from Menghai Tea Factory. Taiwanese tea people commissioning tea in Yiwu in the 1990s is another well-known chapter; see Taiwanese Tea People Return to Yiwu. Today, many small brands' products are in fact custom teas made under contract by factories or processing stations.

Verifying the Material in Custom Tea

• Ask about the material's source: region, village, maocha batch, and season. Ideally, there's a maocha sample you can taste first.
• Confirm the contract manufacturer: who is listed as the manufacturer on the package, and do they have a legal production license?
• Keep samples: when ordering, keep samples of the maocha and the finished tea, and compare them side by side when the tea is ready.
• Check the spent leaf: spent leaves are the most honest. The leaf shape, tenderness, and color should match the claimed material. See Reading Spent Leaves.

FAQ

What is Chen Sheng Hao known for? Lao Banzhang material. Its signature products include Lao Banzhang, Bawang Qingbing, and Chen Sheng No. 1.

Which factory makes Lao Tong Zhi? It's a brand of Haiwan Tea, founded in 1999 by former Menghai Tea Factory directors Zou Bingliang and Lu Guoling.

What is Fu Jin Tea? A Menghai tea company that got its start with Banzhang tea, with its factory founded in 2005. Common products include Cha Wang raw cake and Early Spring raw cake.

Can I buy custom-pressed tea? Yes. The key is that the seller can clearly explain the material's source and the contract manufacturer and will let you taste first.