Ten Mile Tea
Learn about the storied history and unique flavor profile of our signature tea
An Ancient Tea for Modern Times
Ten Mile Tea Farm (十里香) is the world's only producer of Ten Mile tea, a unique tea variety with over 1,200 years of history. Its earliest roots trace back to the "Ten Mile" area of Yunnan province during the 8th century Tang Dynasty. It rose to prominence during the Ming dynasty as a royal tea, only available to members of the royal family. The tea continued to be considered an aristocratic tea through the Qing Dynasty, with historical documents demonstrating that a single tael of Ten Mile Tea could be traded for 6-7 kg of rice.
However, due to being considered an aristocratic tea , many of the existing Ten Mile tea trees were destroyed during the peasant-led Panthay Rebellion in the 1850's, causing Ten Mile tea to become extremely valuable and scarce. By 1946, the number of Ten Mile tea trees dwindled to approximately just 5,000 as many of the remaining trees were cut down for fuel during the Chinese Civil War.
Recovery of Ten Mile tea began in the 1955 when Professor Zhang Fangci (张芳赐), at that time a post-graduate student, began collecting data and samples of the tea variety under renowned Professor of Botany Cai Xitao (蔡希陶) at the Kunming Institution of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1972, Professor Zhang Fangci was appointed to found and chair the Department of Tea at Yunnan Agricultural University, where he made the preservation, research, and re-cultivation of Ten Mile tea a university priority.
As a result of his work, Ten Mile tea trees were re-populated in Yunnan, and, in 2008, he established the world's only Ten Mile tea haven and farm, today known as Ten Mile Tea Farm. Ten Mile Tea Farm today spans 200 acres in Shilin, Yunnan with over 1 million tea trees, where tea leaves are picked and processed by hand on-site. Ten Mile Tea Farm is proud to carry on the legacy of Professor Zhang Fangci and share this storied tea with the world.
Tea Profile: Flavors and Aromas
Ten Mile tea is named not only after the "Ten Mile" area of Kunming, Yunnan from which it originates, but also for its fragrant aroma, which is said to carry for over ten miles. All of our Ten Mile tea leaves are sourced exclusively from our farm, where they are hand-picked under the "One Bud, One Leaf" philosophy to ensure only the most tender and high quality buds and leaves are produced into tea. After being picked, these leaves are carefully dried, rolled, and prepared by hand into either black tea or green tea, each with their own unique flavors and aromas.
Our Ten Mile green tea is our un-fermented tea variety and has a lightly floral aroma. It produces a clear, soft green tea broth with a crisp, grassy flavor. Our Ten Mile black tea, on the other hand, is our fermented tea variety and has a more floral and woody aroma. It produces a golden red tea broth and has a richer but still refreshing flavor. Both of our varieties of Ten Mile Tea are noted for their ability to be steeped multiple times without compromising flavor and their sweet, long-lasting aftertastes.
Both of our tea varieties are internationally recognized for their quality and flavor. In 2010, Ten Mile tea was awarded the Gold Medal at the "Shanghai Expo Tea Competition". The following year, Ten Mile green tea was awarded the Grand Gold Prize at the "World Green Tea Contest 2011" held in Japan. In 2014, Ten Mile tea was again awarded with the highest Gold Award at the "Tenth International Tea Appraisal" competition organized by the World Tea Union. In 2019, Ten Mile black tea was recognized with a Gold Medal at the "World Black Tea Quality Evaluation Competition" organized by the China Tea Marketing Association.