The Xiaguan Tuo Cha Tea shipped along the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, is a famous Puer specialty. Through the Road tea from Yunnan was shipped to Sichuan and Tibet mainly by the horse caravans.

In order to minimize the possibility of the tea wetting and breaking due to travelling, people usually compressed the tea bunches into the shape of cake. In 1902 tea traders in Xiaguan (a major town along the Ancient Tea-Horse Road)base on the making of Puer Ball Tea and Her Tea from the previous dynasties and used dried big leaf tea as raw material to invent a bowl-shaped tea.

It helped avoid mildew and expand exposure with the air, so that the tea fermented slowly and smoothly. The Xiaguan tea traders blazed a unique trail distinguishing themselves with traditional tea making.

Learn more about the production and culture of Tuo Cha Tea from the video.