This experimental loose leaf black tea is made by the Liu family with leaves from their Tieguanyin tea plants. The inspiration for this tea is Wuyi Xiao Zhong, a traditional and full-bodied black tea from Wuyishan (sometimes smoked with special pine wood). You might expect a bracing and full bodied tea, but when you taste this Tieguanyin varietal processed as a curled, roasted black tea, you find something quite different. Cozy and satisfying, this tea has an unmistakable floral Tieguanyin core under the black tea finishing.

The Liu Family has been quietly cultivating incredible 'off the beaten path' Tieguanyin for generations on their mountaintop family plot. Their old-growth tea plants benefit from deep roots, rocky soil and daily clouds and mist shading the plants from excess sun. The result is a complex Tieguanyin full of classic creamy notes, along with a unique spiced quality that expresses the Longjuan climate.