- Production year: 2010
- Storage: Shanghai
- Month cut: April 2025
- Log weight: 36.25 kg
- Slice weight: ~650g / slice (+/- 10%)
- Price: USD 75 / slice
- Availability: In stock
Note:
Unlike any of the other teas listed, this one is in my local storage and thus ships from Norway. This means two things: 1) it cannot be combined in an order with anything else listed; 2) (also unlike everything else listed) it’s a viable option for US buyers.Also, since this is in my private storage I’ll make sure to throw in some (unlisted) samples of other Anhei teas with an order of this.
Yongtaifu (永泰福) is an interesting company. It’s one of several that boast a long history — but supposedly the only one whose claim to an (almost) unbroken lineage from the Qing Dynasty to the present actually holds up. Established in 1829 it was controlled by the Li family until the early 1950s, when it continued under joint state-private ownership (公私合营). In 1987 it returned to the family’s private ownership (reestablished by current company helmsman, Li Shengfu), and in 1999 the company resumed production of qianliangcha, being one of the first companies to do so. (Recall that Baishaxi had resumed their production only two years before, in 1997). In 2010, Yongtaifu was invited to participate in the World Expo in Shanghai, along with Baishaxi.
Yongtaifu is currently jointly run by the seventh generation, brothers Li Shengfu and Li Lifu. The former — whose list of accolades can rival anyone in the Anhua Heicha industry — is the more central character. Younger brother Li Lifu apparently handles more of the hands-on production work, including the qixing stove, and if it’s something Yongtaifu is especially known for it’s their roasting process.
I’ll defer to MOFCOM’s company introduction for a description:
“永泰福千两茶以外形规范合度、色泽油润齐整、茶体紧结匀实见称，汤色明净似桐油，口感醇厚圆润，叶底舒展活泛。其名品“香崖溪”千两茶有显著的樟香松香味。永泰福茶号之“虎皮”，亦是安化黑茶中的高端之作，其特殊工艺形成的高火香或焦糖香，与武夷大红袍、正山小种并称“三绝”。”
… I would only add that the mentioned “high-fire fragrance/caramel fragrance” not only applies to the strongest “tiger skin” (虎皮) processing, but to all of their fully fire-roasted leaf (全火烧料) teas.
That’s probably plenty for a company introduction. Onto the specific tea on offer here
In March 2025, a Shanghai collector with a strong affinity for Yongtaifu teas posted a note announcing that he was moving abroad and needed to sell most of his collection. Attached to the post was a spreadsheet with an overview of the relevant inventory, quite literally more than a ton of tea. Most people took note and moved on, as they guy clearly stated his minimum requirements for spend amount and wasn’t interested in dealing with small fish.
About a month later though, a vendor I know picked up a bunch of his teas, including a number of qianliangcha logs from 2010-13.
Side note: Buying qianliangcha logs from private collectors carries a lot of risk, in addition to potential storage issues these teas sometimes have “heartburn” (烧心). Typically due to processing issues, i.e. the problem is there before the tea leaves the factory - but not discovered until the log is cut open. And while buying directly from the factory or an official brand distributor usually means you can be refunded (normally the buying price - without interests, so still a bad deal if you’ve been storing the tea for a number of years) if such issues are found, buying from a private collector typically doesn’t.
In any case, the logs were cut and issue-free. I bought slices of all of the QLCs for myself and a couple of other people. In retrospect, the eight kilos I got for myself was… more than I really need (or at least have space for). I picked up two slices of most of the QLCs, but four of this particular one. So I have decided to let two of those slices go.
While I am satisfied with all of the (six) Yongtaifu QLC teas I bought, if I had to pick my favorites it would be a shared top spot for this 2010 “Fully Fire-Roasted” Furong QLC and the 2013 “Gaoma Wang” QLC. The 2010 Jiulongchi QLC and the 2012 Xiangyaxi QLC would be very close contenders. Note that the roasting style on these make them rather “front-heavy”. Most of the magic happens in the initial 3-4 steeps though good quialities linger at a lower capacity well beyond that.
I hope to be able to offer more from Yongtaifu in the future, but with the prices their QLCs typically command my guess is that it won’t happen anytime soon. They do have some other more affordable teas though, that could be a good entry point for someone interested in experiencing their production style.
Note: This tea may contain golden flowers (Jinhua/金花), a perfectly natural occurrence in certain heicha teas. Their development depends on factors like microbial activity, storage conditions, and time. However, individuals with Celiac Disease or severe gluten allergies should exercise caution, as we cannot guarantee that no wheat-based materials were involved at any stage of production.
