Learning how to identify gu shu & make maocha - The Tea Urchin

„There is also a lack of formal definition for "gu shu." Some say "gu shu" should only refer to trees over 300 years of age, that is left to grow tall, and not pruned back. But in reality, most "gu shu" trees are cultivated, which entails annual pruning to encourage regrowth & lower branches for easy picking. A lot of "gu shu" on the market comes from trees as young as 100 years old, some of which is as short as 1.5m high. But a 100 year old tea tree growing in the wild can also grow higher than 3m high. Eventually the government will legislate what classifies as "gu shu." Until then, let the buyer beware!“

„At the beginning of 1990s, many small tea factories were born. Some of them started to use class level 3 (or even higher) raw tea (which was only available for emperors in the past) instead of level 6 (or even lower) raw tea (which was the traditional material for producing Pu Erh Tea).“