The Craft
Sun-drying,
step by step.
No ovens. No forced heat. Only sun, air and patience — the way Xinhui has dried citrus pu'er for generations.
STEP 01 · PICK
Pick at the right hour
Mandarins are picked at the right ripeness — green Xiaoqinggan, half-ripe Erhuang, fully red Dahonggan — from Xinhui's core groves. The peel's oils are brightest in the morning, so picking starts early.
STEP 02 · FILL
Fill by hand
Each fruit is opened, emptied and filled with aged Yunnan pu'er, then closed by hand. The leaf must sit loosely — tight packing suffocates the citrus.
STEP 03 · SUN-DRY
Dry under the sun
Fruit and tea dry together under the southern sun, turned by hand day after day until the peel is firm, fragrant and dry to the touch. This is the step no machine can replace.
STEP 04 · AGE
Rest and age
Resting in clean, dry storage. Peel and leaf keep exchanging flavour — citrus oils soften into the tea, the tea's depth settles into the peel. The older, the softer and sweeter.
Why sun, not oven?
An oven dries fast and evenly — and flattens flavour. The sun dries slowly and unevenly, and the tea keeps breathing. Citrus oils survive, the leaf keeps its character, and the finished tea keeps changing in the jar for years. That is why every Wending tea is sun-dried, whole, and unhurried.