Recently, with the nourishment of several spring rains, the shrub wild tea in the deep mountains of Yizhi Township has sprouted new green leaves, entering its optimal picking period and bringing a good income to the local villagers. The wild tea trees in Yizhi Township are mainly distributed in areas such as Manlong Mountain in Yixiang Village, Longtan Mountain in Zhexing Village, Mengma Mountain, Chuxiong Village, and Dalu Village in Tangfang Village. Due to the surrounding environment being high mountains with dense forests, it is often shrouded in mist, has high Humidity, and fertile soil. The tea trees growing in this environment have thick and plump buds and leaves, soft leaf texture, which is conducive to the formation of nitrogenous compounds. The content of effective components such as amino acids and caffeine in the tea leaves is high, the tea can be boiled for a long time without becoming mushy, the tea color is golden and transparent, and the taste is sweet and fragrant.
The best time to pick wild tea is from late March to before Qingming Festival. In these 10 days of the picking period, the usually quiet mountain ravines become lively. Villagers carry backpacks and shoulder baskets, going into the mountains in groups, starting a “fingertip competition.” Three or five sisters surround a tea tree, their fingers flying, pinching and picking skillfully, picking fresh Green Tea leaves one by one and putting them into baskets and bags, capturing the “greenness” of spring; looking up, the brothers have already nimbly climbed to the top of the tree, “occupying” the high ground, filling the mountains with laughter and joy of harvest.
According to villagers, there are over 2,000 wild tea trees on Manlong Mountain, each one being a tea tree that is over a hundred years old. Some individual trees can produce 30 kilograms of fresh leaves. Because the tea is of high quality, many tea merchants vie to purchase it. The head of Jinggu Jingu Xiang Tea Company, who “won” the right to pick this wild tea, exclaimed, “Good tea must be ‘grabbed'!”
The wild tea grove on Manlong Mountain is a collective forest of the Manlong Mountain Villager Group. The person responsible for operating this forest said, “When I contracted this forest land back then, the tea market was not doing well, and the economic benefits from the tea fields were low. Initially, I planned to cut down the tea trees after contracting and plant fir trees and eucalyptus. Later, as the tea market improved, I kept the tea trees. Now, I can pick six to seven tons of fresh leaves every year, earning around 200,000 yuan in pure profit annually, quickly recouping my contract fees.”
“In recent years, the development of tea has been good, and more and more villagers have started planting tea. Currently, the total area of tea planted in the village is over 3,400 mu, including over 500 mu of wild tea trees, primarily distributed in Mengma Mountain, Chuxiong Village, and Dalu Village. Households processing higher-quality tea can sell it for 120 yuan per kilogram. During the tea-picking season, the villagers are very happy,” explained Luo Hengxiang, deputy secretary of the Tangfang Village Party General Branch.
It is understood that the purchase price of fresh wild tea leaves in Yizhi Township is about 45 yuan per kilogram, and the daily wage for tea pickers is 150 yuan. This small green leaf is a signal of spring and has also become one of the promising industries for strengthening villages and enriching people in Yizhi Township. Currently, the tea plantation area in Yizhi Township is over 5,000 mu, with nearly 1,000 mu of wild tea trees. The annual output value of tea ready for picking is approximately 5 million yuan. The land nurtures the people, and the once worthless “tree leaves” growing deep in the mountains have turned into the now highly sought-after “golden leaves.” This effectively converts ecological resource advantages into economic development advantages, driving local tea farmers to earn a decent income through channels such as planting, picking, and sales, right at their doorstep, enhancing the satisfaction and happiness of the people.
Contributed by: Yizhi Township Publicity Office