Exceptional, Very Rare Teas

Dao Tea founder Pedro Villalón was climbing Nannuo Mountain, in China’s Yunnan province, when he met a farmer along the road.   The farmer, from the Aini minority, greeted in a traditional way:  “have you eaten?”  The conversation evolved into a lunch invitation to the family home of Yang Si, the Aini farmer.  Dinner followed lunch, and breakfast followed dinner.  Enjoying the Yang family's superb hospitality Pedro was captivated by their tea, harvested from centuries-old trees in some of the richest, high-mountain rainforest terroir on Earth, and personally handcrafted by Yang Si.

Trips to other remote villages followed, hitchhiking on motorbikes through winding roads, taking overnight buses where a flea or two dined on Pedro’s skin, having the honour to join the tea harvest, and sharing tables with some of the most amazing people in Asia. 

Our sustainably micro-farmed, handcrafted, very rare teas are the outcome.  

We have special gratitude to Hanyeul Kim, Serah Kim, Hye-rim Auh, Ji Hyo Kim & family, Zhan Cang, Ming Lu Zhi and Jiang Xiaoyan; their help was invaluable; we also thank each and every one of the tea masters.