Rose petals have become a highly traditional pairing with shu pu’er, and Longyuanhao workshop’s pressing is a wonderful example of how these two flavors can work together in harmony. The florals of rose are already deep and textural. When they combine with a clean high quality shu pu’er, over time they bring out vaporous spice and texture in the tea. Longyuanhao's slow clean fermentation means this tea is not weighed down, but rather unfolds delightfully on the pallet, bolstered by nearly two decades of aging.

Liu Bao Hei Cha is a unique relative to pu’er from Guangxi that gets a deep oxidation before classic fermentation technique is applied. The slow oxidation and clean relatively-dry shu pu’er style fermentation yields a deliciously rich, clean and smooth tea with sticky rice aromatics, and cooling woody foresty aftertaste.

Yongming Workshop loves focusing on single origin cakes, highlighting what makes a region iconic, leaning on their decades of sourcing connections for access to leaf material like this- hand-picked from trees up to five hundred years old, growing wild in the prized Banzhang region. For pile fermentation, Yongming brings in specially selected spring water to add moisture and encourage deep dark flavor for this cake in a way that complements the tea's natural aroma. Picked in 2017, this tea was pressed in 2022 after aging loose for an even rich complexity.

“Deep Green mountains and crystal clear water bears forth sweet mountain herbs, a tea unlike any other.”  This line is the inspiration for Wan Yuan Workshop’s premium Ma Dui Zhang label’s 2018 "Lan Xiang" blend - a mix of buds and delicate leaves that come together for a deep, toasty, rich and complex cake.  Notes of baked apple, toasted oats, cedar, and vanilla with a rich honeyed aftertaste

Bulangshan is known for rich, cooling teas packed with zhang xiang or “camphor aromatics.” Ju Ming Workshop is a small producer befriended by Wang Yanxin on her lifelong search to find under-represented labels doing more interesting work than the big brands. Several years of age give this shu pu’er that Bulangshan cooling sensation, along with notes of brown sugar milk tea, allspice, cedar, caramel apple, and vanilla.

Yuan Zhang Workshop is a small producer befriended by Wang Yanxin on her lifelong search to find under-represented labels doing more interesting work than the big brands. This pressing is called Shen Xin, which loosely translates to “profound spirit,” an inspiration for this elegant and well balanced flavor profile. Notes of cardamom, brown sugar, dried apple, and rye with a juicy aftertaste.

This is a unique offering from the Banzhang Laoshu Workshop. As their name suggests, they are based in famous Banzhang, not Bingdao, but their work in Banzhang gives them connections to stunning producers in Bingdao. This is their unique blend, balanced from a “Banzhang” perspective but with famously cooling (and sought-after) Bingdao leaf material. Over a decade of age gives this shu pu’er a rich, sweet cooling aftertaste. Notes of sticky rice, caramel, cinnamon, elderberry and vanilla.

De Hou Workshop is a small producer befriended by Wang Yanxin on her lifelong search to find under-represented labels doing more interesting work than the big brands. This cake shows that a talented small workshop can achieve that perfect ideal flavor profile that made bigger brands like Mengku so famous, even without access to a huge cache of leaf material from across Yunnan. Through careful harvesting, and slow clean fermentation, De Hou has put together a cake picked in 2016 and pressed in 2018, brewing up beautifully with iconic notes of molasses, chocolate,cherry, cinnamon, and vanilla with a smooth silky texture.

Gong Ting or “Palace” designation is a nod to the old tea tribute system and describes the tiny golden bud pressings once offered to the imperial palace as a form of tax payment. This grade of shu pu’er is famously silky, sweet and smooth. Jing Ze Workshop’s 2016 harvest gong ting cake is no exception. This is a stunning and iconic pressing with notes of ginger cookies, spice cake, pear, and vanilla with a clean sparkling texture.