The best tea bricks for border regions

Xiaguan Tea Factory: A History of Tea Bricks for Border Regions

Once upon a time, in the Lugu Lake region, on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan, if you entered the villages of ethnic minorities and asked an old Yi grocer (The Yi people (彝族, Yízú) are one of the largest recognized ethnic minorities in China; they often inhabit remote mountainous areas) if he sold brick tea, he would often pull out a brick of tea from the Xiaguan factory and say with certainty:

"This is the best one. I've been drinking it since I was young until today. To make yak butter tea or salted tea, you can't do without it. If I don't drink it for a day, I get a headache."

The faithful choice of the Tibetan people and the emphatic recommendation of these elders perfectly illustrate the real influence of Xiaguan teas in the Kham and Tibet regions.

Even today, the Xiaguan factory is the only company in Yunnan officially designated by the government to produce strategic reserve tea and tea for border regions. It has carried on this particular historical mission for almost a century.

What is tea for border regions?

Border-sale tea (bianxiao cha, 边销茶) refers to a special category of tea distributed in ethnic minority regions of Tibet, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, and Ningxia, in desert, high-plateau, and steppe areas.

In these regions, the daily diet relies heavily on beef and mutton. Due to a harsh climate and lack of fresh vegetables, tea has become an essential source of vitamins and dietary fiber.

The history of this trade dates back a long way and constitutes an important part of the economic exchanges between the Han people of interior China and the minorities of the border regions.

Since the Tang dynasty and the tea-for-horses (cha ma hushi) trade, this commerce was controlled by the central government, which had created specialized agencies responsible for this monopoly.

Under the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, specific administrations called Cha Ma Si (Tea and Horse Bureau) were established.

After the founding of New China, tea for border regions was integrated into a planned economy and classified as a first-category national strategic resource, to ensure sufficient supply. This policy continued until the early 21st century.

 

A wide variety of teas

Border teas come in many forms:

• Pu'er bricks
• ox heart-shaped compressed tea
• Hunan Fu bricks
• black bricks
• flowered bricks
• Hubei green bricks
• rice bricks
• Sichuan Kang bricks
• Jinjian, etc.

For people in border regions, tea holds a fundamental place:

"Better to go three days without meat than one day without tea."

Xiaguan: a strategic location

Dali, where the Xiaguan factory is located, was once the meeting point between:

• the Southern Silk Road
• the Tea and Horse Road

Its privileged geographical position and its particular historical context naturally led Xiaguan to assume the mission of producing these tea bricks for the borders.

 

 

The change of 1966

In December 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, some factory employees felt that the brand "Baoyan" (Sacred Flame) had feudal connotations.

They also considered that the particular shape of compressed tea was unsuitable for mechanization, packaging, and led to high costs.

After validation by the provincial tea company:

• the brand "Baoyan" was renamed "Tuanjie" (Unity)
• the heart-shaped compressed tea was changed to a rectangular format

From then on, tea for border regions gradually adopted the brick shape.

Logistical difficulties in the 1990s

In the 1990s, even though southern China was experiencing strong economic development and better infrastructure, transporting tea to the western and central border regions remained extremely difficult.

Paradoxically, the more isolated and difficult a region was to access, the more it needed this tea to compensate for daily nutritional deficiencies.

Transport sometimes required:

• human porters
• horses or mules
• several days of walking

 

An absolute priority for Xiaguan

Faced with the immense demand from border regions, the Xiaguan factory had to constantly maintain reserves of over 10,000 tons of raw tea.

At that time, the production of Pu'er cakes was not a priority.

It represented only a small portion of the total production.

The main mission remained the production of tea for the border populations.

 

The gradual decline after 2000

Since the 2000s, Pu'er's popularity has greatly increased in inland China.

The production of:

• Xiaguan tuocha
• tea cakes

has therefore also increased.

In parallel, in traditional border tea-consuming regions:

• more inhabitants have left to work elsewhere
• the aging of the population has accelerated
• some villages have become deserted

The number of consumers has thus decreased.

Moreover, traditional drinks such as:

• yak butter tea
• oil tea
• salted tea

are very high in calories and may be less suitable for daily consumption among the elderly.

With the improvement in living standards and the development of logistics, other types of tea are now available in these regions, offering more choices to consumers.

 

The end of public subsidies

Before 2000, border regions remained relatively poor.

The production of border tea survived mainly thanks to government subsidies, which kept prices very low.

When the state withdrew these financial aids, many companies already operating at a loss ceased their production of border tea.

But for Xiaguan, producing this tea remains a historical mission and a social responsibility that it will continue to uphold.

A bygone era, but a fragrance that lingers

The gradual decline of border tea bricks actually reflects:

• the country's development
• the improvement of infrastructure
• better living conditions for border populations

Roads have replaced ancient natural obstacles.

Villages have changed their appearance.

But one thing remains unchanged:

the timeless fragrance of Xiaguan tea.

Since always, thanks to its emblematic teas like Baoyan Jincha, the Xiaguan factory has carried a considerable historical responsibility.

From the past to today, it has remained faithful to its promise to provide quality tea to minorities in border regions.

Despite the difficulties, it has never abandoned this mission.

In the future, Xiaguan will undoubtedly continue to perpetuate this heritage and spread the aroma of its tea in border regions.

After more than twenty years of aging:

• the once lively infusion has softened
• the liquor takes on an amber red color reminiscent of wine
• the aroma becomes deep and stable
• the aging notes are clear and pure

Time reveals all its grandeur.

In the mouth, the texture is oily and silky.

We find the characteristic aromas of old Xiaguan raw Pu'er, as well as that typical sweetness that recalls the historical identity of the house.

Discover and taste the famous Xiaguan brick for autonomous regions.