Hello Aluxers, thanks for joining us again! Today, our top ten list introduces you to the exquisite world of luxurious tea. Tea has been a part of oriental tradition for millennia. Europe and the US first developed a penchant for these mystical leaves in the 18th Century when British traders began smuggling tea seeds from China to their Indian colonies in the Himalayas. In West Bengal, tea plantations replaced opium fields in huge numbers and a new culture was born. This change in harvest is widely regarded as one of the most defining eras in modern international trade.

Today, tea products are ubiquitous and the choice has become extremely diverse. Fruity, smoky, herbal or aromatic, the list is endless. However, the very best tea leaves will always be the ones grown on mystical grounds, cultivated by ancient methods and distributed with a touch of class.

Number 10 - Gao Shan Tea – $170 per kilo

The first tea on our list is both unique and extremely rare. It has survived thousands of years of savage typhoons high up in the mountains of Thaiwan (Tyy-One). There are less than 800 Tienchi plants left and each one must be carefully cultivated. Chinese legend believes the tea’s medicinal qualities derive from its ability to survive on such rugged terrain. It is used to treat insomnia, dizzines and various skin conditions.

Number 9 - Sliver Tips Imperial Tea - $400 per kilo

This product grows at the highest altitude of any tea. Plantations can be found as high as 8000 ft into the Himalayan mountains! It’s mystical aroma is attributed to a unique harvesting method: Silver Tips Imperial Tea can only be picked during full moon nights. By following cosmic cycles, the tea’s potency is apparently enhanced. After harvest, the teas are left to dry in slightly moist conditions so that they begin to ferment. As a result, the product has become known as a liquor tea and is usually enjoyed in the evening after a luxurious banquet. The tea can also boast being processed and packaged at the Makaibari Tea Estate in Darjeeling. This Estate is renowned as the very first tea factory and the only one in India to have never been owned by the British.

Number 8 - Gorreana (Gaw -ree-arna) Broken Leaf Black Tea - $405 per kilo

This tea’s history is also linked with a great European power of the imperial era. The Portuguese were some of the first merchants in Asia. Tea reached the palaces of Portuguese rulers by the 1750s. In 1883, the Gorreana Tea Plantation was founded on the remote Azores Islands. This magical destination, formed through volcanic activity millions of years ago, provides the only climate and soil in Europe where quality tea can grow in abundance.

The tea’s harvesting method also makes it a unique product; farmers only pick the third leaf from each branch. This ancient tradition creates a luxurious  and exclusive aroma. A beautiful fusion of east meets west.

Number 7 - Gyokuro (Gee-ock-uru) Tea - $650 per kilo

Gyokuro is a Japanese Green Sencha Tea. Grown in the Uji district of Japan for as long as History can remember, this is definitely one of the oldest teas on the list. It distinguishes itself from other sencha teas in quality and flavour because of the way its cultivated.

Usually green tea leaves are immediately dried in the sun after harvesting. However, the gyokuro leaves are deliberately dried in the shade for the first two weeks. This raises the levels of amino acids and alkaloid caffeine giving the tea a stronger, sweeter taste. These unique properties also mean that Gyokuro tea is widely regarded as a form of alternative medicine. Rich Japanese grandmothers are renowned for trying to cure the common cold with Gyokuro.  It’s a little bit more expensive than pharmaceutical medicine but far more classy!

Number 6 - Taiwanese (Ty-wonn-eaze) Insect Poop Tea - $1000 per kilo

The Taiwanese are serious about tea. This product, in particular, is fiercely respected. Perhaps the most bizarre tea on this list, it’s cultivation methods are distinctly unique. Tea leaves are collected and piled together in a heap. Then a horde of larval insects, similar in appearance to a silkworm, are dumped on top. The larvae gradually devour the pile of leaves. Of course, what goes in must come out, and it’s these droppings that the tea is actually made from. One reason it’s so expensive is because harvesting it is more labour intensive than any other plant on the planet. Farmers must use specialised tweezers and magnifying glasses to painstakingly pick up each drop.

The myth behind this tea is also worth a mention. It was said to be cultivated by accident in the 18th Century. When local farmers had tasted the insect poop they were convinced that it was a special product and sent some to the Chinese Emperor as a gift. He was delighted. Of course he was, how else should one react to being given a cup of insect poop?

Number 5 - Yellow Gold Tea Buds - $3000 per kilo

This product perfectly represents the region from which it comes. All the ostentatious glitz and glamour of Singapore is reflected in a tea strain refined with superfluous luxury. This is literally the Gucci of Teas.

The tea only exists on one mountain and harvest of the buds is restricted to one day a year. Trusted farmers use golden scythes to pick buds that only grow on the very tops of the trees. After being picked, the buds are placed in containers so that they dry at a higher temperature. This increases the amount of polyphenol (Poll-eee-fen-oll) causing the leaves to turn yellow. Once dried, the leaves are hand painted by skilled artisans with 24 carat gold. The tea company defends this level of ostentation by saying that the gold is not just decorative. Indeed, Ancient Chinese medicine considers gold to be a special dietary supplement with profound health benefits. So don’t worry if the gold markets crash, you can always store the metal on a spice rack.

Number 4 - Guanyin (Gwarn-yinn) Tea - $3000 per kilo

Tied in price with the Yellow Gold Tea Bud of Singapore, this tea’s ancestral past could not be more different. The origins of Guanyin Tea are steeped in folk legend and hallowed by spirituality.

Legend has it that the tea was discovered over a thousand years ago by a peasant farmer in the Fujian  (Foo-jee-ann) Province of China. Every day, on his way to the fields, he would pass a temple built in honour of Guanyin, “the Iron Goddess of Mercy”. The Fujian region was extremely poor at this time and no one had the money to maintain a temple that had fallen into disrepair. The peasant farmer became despondent by this fact and resolved to do all he could to maintain the building. He would sweep, clean and light incense. One night the goddess Guanyin visited him in a dream and thanked him for all his hard work. She told him that a gift had been left at the back of the temple. The farmer found the tea shoot and began to cultivate it. It soon gained popularity as one of the finest teas in China. As a result, the peasants were raised out of destitution and into remarkable prosperity. Even to this day, every year, a festival is held in honour of the tea and the Iron goddess of Mercy.

Number 3: Shui Hsien (Shoo-ha-see-arn) Tea - $6,500 per kilo

The mysterious nature of this oolong tea gives it a magical quality which makes it unparalleled in popularity and reputation in China.

Shui  Hsien loosely translates to Water-Sprite. In English the tea is widely known as ‘Narcissus (Narr-siss-uss) tea’. The coincidental link between the Chinese and Englsh name is quite extraordinary.

The Chinese name originates from a story about water sprites who punished a vain man by drowning him in a cup of tea. When brewed, Shui Hsien turns perfectly black with a wickedly enticing aroma. The colour is so fine that it creates a perfect reflection. Narcissus is the main character in an Ancient Greek Legend. In the story he drowns in a lake trying to kiss his own reflection. Spooky huh?!

This tea is rarely exported outside of China and is mainly used in the country’s most expensive restaurants.

Number 2: Panda Dung Tea - $70,000 per kilo

This modern tea is cultivated in the mountainous regions of the Szechuan (Shesh-waann) province in Northern China. The product first came on the market in 2012 and represents an entirely new concept behind the purpose and function of tea cultivation.  The region is home to some of the last remaining panda bears in the wild.

One of the reasons panda bears have become so endangered can historically be attributed to agricultural expansion. However, the philosophy of this tea company hopes to reverse the process. The plantations are entirely self-sustainable and create zero waste product. In such a way, Panda Dung Tea has tapped into the niche market of earth-conscious millionaires.

Panda’s are free to roam through the tea plantations and are encouraged to use them as toilets. This fertilisation technique creates a strong, dark tea with fresh aromas.

The tea is sold at a high price due to its quality but also for its efforts to conserve the natural environment.

How wonderful that you can smugly sit at home with a $200 cup of panda dung tea, safe in the knowledge that every luxuriant sip helped to save a panda bear’s life!

Number 1: Da Hong Pao Tea -  $1m per kilo

And coming in at number one is the tea of all teas. It is estimated that unless you are extremely well connected in China, the chances of tasting this tea is 1 in 494 billion.

Legend has it that thousands of years ago a Chinese Emperor’s mother was critically ill.  Some peasants from the Wuyi mountains offered him some tea that they said was blessed and could cure his mother’s illness. The remedy worked and the entire Empire was astonished.

Immediately the Emperor asked for the whereabouts of the bushes that produced this miraculous blend.

The name Da Hong Pao literally translates to Red Robe because, on finding the 6 bushes, a soldier took off his red robe and cast it upon the shrubs, claiming it for the Emperor.

Today, the 6 bushes still exist and are a National Treasure of China. Day and night, heavily armed guards keep watch over a plant that is worth of 20 times its weight in pure gold!

Bonus Fact: The tea trade was so successful it managed to break the shady opium trade that had developed between China and Britain. By introducing an entirely new international market, opium addiction decreased drastically in Europe and contributed towards a healthier society.