Before cinnamon became popular, narcissus and Wuyi vegetable tea were the dominant varieties of rock tea for nearly half a century. After the widespread cinnamon market, narcissus’ position remains stable. But based on the market situation in the past two years, Narcissus needs to add the prefix “Old Cong” to have a certain say in the high-end market and to make a legitimate appearance with the same name as Cinnamon.
So, Lao Cong Shuixian and Bai Nian Cong began to flood the market like beef in the past. Whether they were rock tea fans or not, many had heard of beef and Lao Cong. Starting from them, even high-level ones couldn’t escape the struggle between them.
Without boasting, I’m just curious to say that if I see and drink too much of something that should be rare, I can’t help but wonder whether there are so many old narcissus in Mount Wuyi?
01 How difficult is it to determine the age of the old narcissus tree?
Old bush narcissus is a category that requires us to mobilize our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind to see and feel.
From a drinking perspective, “clump flavor” is a necessary indicator for old clump narcissus, but judging this indicator is a complex technical task. There is currently no complete consensus on the recognition features of Congwei.
In our understanding, Congwei is a complex and comprehensive flavor that encompasses moss, woody, brown rice, and zongzi leaf flavors. It is the woody aroma expressed by the age of tea trees and also presents the ecological atmosphere of the surrounding environment during assimilation.
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The richness of the cluster flavor cannot fully represent the age of the tea tree, but also relates to the management method, processing techniques, and orientation.
For example, at the same age, there is a significant difference in the scent of narcissus between those with and without clumps. For example, the most common rumor is that on rainy days, the taste of old clumps is the strongest, but often only the monotony of clumps is obtained.
From a visual perspective, it can be broken down into many different angles.
One is to observe the growth of trees. In our mountain patrol experience, due to differences in growth environment, planting methods, and management methods, there are also significant differences in the vigor of narcissus tea trees.
Compared to the seedlings planted in batches, after reaching a certain age, the old clusters that grow in shaded environments still look slender and graceful. As the trees grow older and nutrients are lost, they may appear thinner. An old clump that grows up in fertile soil and ample sunlight can easily become a burly man.
The area around Shuilian Cave is recognized as a place where large areas of old narcissus trees are preserved, but some mountain ranges have slender branches due to the humid environment
The narcissus variety itself is a asexual seedling without a main root and a well-developed root system. Generally, planting methods with large row spacing and sufficient growth space make narcissus more likely to grow into a tree with sufficient age.
However, when sufficient tree spacing is provided in a damp and cool environment, even in mountainous areas with recognized century old trees, the growth of tea trees is not as strong as we imagine, such as in ancient wells.
And some of the high mountains we have shared, such as Huangshitou, Xiaojiang Village, and old clusters of camphor trees, have almost independent growth space in terms of planting methods. Coupled with abundant sunlight in the mountains, the tree growth is quite impressive.
This involves the second perspective of looking at the planting method. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, tea trees were generally planted with a radius of one hoe handle, similar to the planting method of fruit trees. During the Great Leap Forward period after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, row planting was adopted, but later thinning was carried out to expand the growth space of the plants.
Jiujing Rock old cluster narcissus, with a row spacing of about one meter in width
During the on-site visit to Laocong Shuixian, the owner of the mountain field also shared several perspectives and experiences.
Observe the flexibility of tea tree branches. The top branches of the old narcissus that have reached a certain level are usually brittle and prone to breakage as the tree ages and the supply of nutrients exceeds demand. I remember when we went to the Maple Tree Nest Old Cong Mountain Farm in the 22nd tea season, there was a large pile of tree trunks that were broken during tea picking last year.
Another thing is to look at the attachments on the branches. In our understanding, moss is an indicator of a damp growing environment and cannot represent the age of a tree. Some mountain owners also introduced that tea trees with “white spots” on their branches will be older.
We have checked the information and found that there are many cases of white spots appearing, which may be caused by pests and diseases during the growth process of tea trees or traces of self repair and renewal after damage to the epidermis, which can to some extent reflect the age of the tree.
Mantuo Peak Old Bush Narcissus
Of course, under the influence of multiple factors, the methodology of seeing is believing can only be applied to half of the old bush narcissus, and it is necessary to determine the age of the tree through historical records and interviews.
02 How many old daffodils are there in Mount Wuyi?
Lao Cong is a concept that emerged relatively late. In a handwritten letter from Mr. Yao’s tea factory, he mentioned the bamboo nest Lao Cong narcissus that he personally planted, which is over forty years old.
It is said that this is a new product category developed on the basis of narcissus, which has since spread.
At present, there is a commonly accepted definition of small trees and tree type tea trees that are over 50 years old and are managed by retaining clumps. It can be seen that only tea trees that meet the three conditions of tree species, age, and management methods can be called old clusters.
Fortunately, 50 years ago, narcissus was already a prominent family in rock tea, and during this period, it was not mentioned in the historical records we could find.
Overlooking the Bishi Mountain Range, Bishi is now one of the mountain ranges that extensively preserves the old clusters of daffodils
According to Lin Fuquan, after the five ports were open to trade, narcissus was planted in Mount Wuyi by tea merchants during the Guangxu period. In this way, if the narcissus of that year still survived, the oldest cluster of narcissus in Mount Wuyi was between 150 and 120 years old.
The planting area of tea trees is often related to the sales of tea leaves. In earlier times, the “Sea Tea Road” and “Land Jin Merchant Wanli Tea Road” gathered in the tea markets of Xingcun, Xiamei, and Chishi, and a large part of them were transported from Yangzhuang Ancient Post Road through Shuiguan to Qianshan. As a result, these areas have also extensively planted tea, preserving a considerable amount of old narcissus resources
For example, in the northwest of Yangzhuang Township, in the Wusan area, during the prosperity of tea roads, a large area of old cluster narcissus was planted. In the “Wuyi Tea Classic” edited by Zhang Tianfu, it is recorded that “every family in Wushan relies on tea for their livelihood and has planted narcissus varieties. In front of and behind their houses, on the mountainside and by the stream, there are still more than 8000 hundred year old cluster narcissus trees preserved in the whole village to this day
The old clusters of narcissus trees in the Wu San Di Di Lin have been concentrated and preserved in large patches, with over 3000 old clusters of narcissus trees remaining to this day
By the 1930s and 1940s, narcissus varieties had become popular in Mount Wuyi. In the tea posters and advertisements of tea houses such as Jiquan and Yuanxing, the narcissus seed in Wuyi tea has become a signature product.
In 1947, Ni solemnly wrote “Shuiji Lake – Cradle of Narcissus”: “In the first few years of the 19th year of the Republic of China, it was the most prosperous period of Mount Wuyi, that is, the golden age of Wuyi rock tea.”
“Wuyi rock tea is made of narcissus varieties, which are the most popular, and the demand exceeds the supply. Therefore, every year, hundreds of narcissus seedlings are transported from the Great Lake to Wuyi, many of which are incalculable. Almost 100% of the narcissus seedlings are used to plant new castles in Mount Wuyi and fill the shortage of old tea gardens.”
The Zhuqian Rock deep in the Bishi area of Shanbei, the 1941 hanging lamp cage tea factory, has been abandoned. Most of the nearby old bushes were planted in the 1960s and 1970s, and there are also a few hundred year old bushes that have been left behind
However, due to the blockade of war and the depression of the tea industry, the production of rock tea in the 1940s was not prosperous. In 1941, Lin Fuquan conducted a survey and statistics on tea factories, and found that the production of narcissus accounted for about 13.5% of the total tea production. The data in Liao Cunren’s book “Wuyi Rock Tea” in 1941, which investigated the production of rock tea, was comparable.
However, we can also see from these surveys of output and tea plants that narcissus cultivation covers almost all of Mount Wuyi. Tea plants that were still in operation at that time almost all produced narcissus. Now if they are preserved, they are almost 100 years old.
Since then, narcissus has been a stable main plant in Mount Wuyi. By 2000, according to the records of Mount Wuyi Statistical Yearbook, the planting area has accounted for more than one-third of the tea planting area in the city.
If calculated based on 50 years, according to the annual tea garden area and yield table in the 10th volume of Wuyi Cultural and Historical Materials edited by Yao Yueming, after 1970, the total tea planting area in the city was 15964 acres. During this period, cinnamon was still a small player in the 18th tier, and its planting area had not yet reached the position of being three thirds of the world’s narcissus. If estimated at 40%, there were approximately 6385 acres of narcissus planted in the city in 1970, and the rest of the life would be old bush candidates.
Of course, during this period, there was both a wave of planting and the emergence of adverse weather conditions. For example, the severe drought in 2023 caused the sacrifice of many old bushes in the entire mountain. Who could have had so many 50 years!
Grass shoes immortal old bush narcissus, standard step planting
As a special category, Laocong is a unique flavor that appears after a certain life cycle of tea trees. A work that has undergone the baptism of time is truly charming. But the cruel thing is that its economic lifespan is ultimately not as good as that of new trees, and coupled with the admiration for old trees and shrubs in recent years, excessive harvesting will also weaken its regenerative ability and accelerate the loss of its lifespan.
Finally, let me say a declaration of love and peace. Caring for Lao Cong is everyone’s responsibility.
The double standard is that nowadays the pursuit of aging is not limited to the old bush, and the aging cinnamon also shows the texture after the baptism of time, moving from the new “gui” of youthful fresh clothes to the elegant and mature high “gui”.