Every year, we visit our tea estates to reconnect with partners and learn more about the earth's most precious leaves. Inevitably, our love and admiration deepens. The first stop is one of the most beautiful places on earth: Wuyi Mountain, China. Breathtaking views from the top of this hill reveal the origin of Silver Needle Tea Co.'s Golden Beautiful Eyebrow, Big Red Robe and Wuyi Black Tea. The elevation is above 4000 ft., and the air is pristine.

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Liao, our tea estate owners in Wuyi Mountain. Born and raised here, Mr. Liao is a fifth generation tea master. Pictured above, he passionately describes the unique, nutrient-rich soil of the region from which some of the most expensive and coveted teas in the world are rooted and emerge.

Here's an up close shot of the tea leaves. Some of the rarest teas like our Golden Beautiful Eyebrow use only the top bud of each branch. Other teas consist of the bud and two leaves below. The third and fourth leaves are often avoided, as they offer less potency and can jeopardize the taste profile.

Mrs. Liao took this photo of me. I couldn't resist trying to capture the incredible landscape!

The next morning we had breakfast at a popular neighborhood eatery that made delicious Vietnamese noodles.

We trekked out to an alcove for tea, though you do have to bring you own. According to Mr. and Mrs. Liao, only locals know about this secluded place. The hike is pretty far but one glimpse of the idyllic setting, and you'll linger for hours. This was one of my favorite tea spots.

Back to the tea estate. Different teas arise from distinct cultivars, plant varieties, developed by tea masters to create a certain taste profile. There are about seven cultivars of tea in the surrounding hills. While difficult to distinguish at first, I began to slowly discern subtle variations in the leaves after a couple of days.

In this photo, Mrs. Liao reveals some of the most expensive tea leaves on the estate. Shielded from the sun by bamboo trees, the leaves are more tender and flavorful.

Before visiting the current production center, Mr. and Mrs. Liao invited me to see a former location where family both lived and worked for several generations. The home is filled with antique tools and ancient artifacts, like the tea baskets pictured above, that are hundreds of years old. Today, tea production centers and living quarters must be separated.

This is the production center now, which houses four machines for roasting and other machines for firing and rolling the leaves. The modest facility is a considerably small-scale operation. They harvest once a year, producing only three tons of tea annually. The tea is so high in demand, we order months in advance to secure our small batches to bring back to the U.S.

Time for tea tasting! Here are four grades of Golden Beautiful Eyebrow. The price variation between the highest and lowest grade is so dramatic, you can even taste it in the flavor profile.

Tasting pure tea calls for multiple infusions to experience how the teas evolve. Some can be re-steeped more than ten times. The flavors and aroma continue to develop, a signature trait of exquisite tea.

We love partnering with tea masters like Mr. and Mrs. Liao, who intimately understand, cherish and honor pure tea. Building relationships with our producers develops knowledge and vital insight into the teas we procure. Golden Beautiful Eyebrow, Big Red Robe and Wuyi Mountain Black Tea are now available in our Summer Tea Collection.