Collector's Ultimate Black Tea Sampler
Tasting Kits
Black Tea
This bundle includes eight 25g bags of craft black tea for 200g total (40 sessions).
This Tea Sampler includes eight 25g bags of fine black tea for 200g total (40 brewing sessions). Black tea is going through a renaissance in China. Farmers like Li Xiangxi in Wuyishan are pushing the boundaries of craft, and pulling out all the stops with rare, sometimes wild-picked harvests from coveted microclimates.
This tea sampler is all about trying the very rarest, most stunning examples of black tea craft in the world- the pride and joy of each of our partner-farmers. From wild tree teas that only grow in high elevation groves in Wuyishan and Yunnan, to luxurious buddy golden black teas that brew up smooth as silk this sampler reveals the stunning complexity of modern black tea craft at its finest.
Explore the Ultimate Chinese Black Tea Sampler:
Qianjiazhai Sun Dried Black Tea Pearls (25g)
This tea is wild-foraged by the Li Family of the Dongsa Cooperative within the Mt Ailao National Forest Preserve. The silvery buds and twisting golden leaves are picked from ancient tea trees between one hundred and eight hundred years old scattered between other evergreens, and wildflowers on the rocky mountainside. This incredibly labor-intensive tea to harvest is actually allowed to sun-roast and oxidize without applying heat in a wok. Because more moisture is retained in the leaf, this black tea is a fantastic candidate for aging like traditional sheng pu’er. Only a high-elevation remote place like Qianjiazhai can count on enough sunlight in the spring for this old but rare finishing technique. The result is a tea with the sweet malt of a black tea but the staggering complexity and herbaceous undertones of a sheng pu’er. The loose Maocha is lightly steamed and then meticulously rolled and shaped one pearl at a time by Master Zhou without the use of molds or machinery to preserve the delicate complexity of the tea.
Classic Qimen Black (25g)
We are so excited to finally be representing such a talented family in world-famous Qimen after a ten year search for the right partners. The Cheng family takes their work seriously and the proof is in the tea. Their classic Qimen is packed with sweet, honeyed notes, floral complexity and beautiful malty undertones thanks to the careful picking and slow, small-batch hand-finishing process that Master Cheng uses.
Jin Jun Mei Black Tea (25g)
Jin Jun Mei Wuyi black tea is one of the most labor intensive and demanding teas to produce. Fine Jin Jun Mei is made exclusively from tiny spring buds, and requires thousands and thousands of hand-picked golden buds to make a single pound of finished tea. The result is a downy tea with a thick full texture, and a beautiful elegance. Li Xiangxi's spring-fed tea grows out of rocky, sandy soil, yielding a rich mineral flavor true to Wuyishan's unique terroir.
Laoshan Gongfu Black (25g)
This tea highlights Mr. He’s delicate and meticulous hand rolling and straightening technique developed in producing Pine Needle Green, but introducing traditional sun-oxidation to make a rich and deeply complex black tea. The result is Lashan’s most mineral-forward and complex black tea to date. This tea is fed by mountain spring water, picked by hand, and cultivated sustainably using traditional chemical-free farming techniques including growing rows of soybean between rows of tea to restore nitrates to the soil. The finished tea picks up the rocky minerality of the soil, and careful low temperature roasting brings out deep brown sugar sweetness.
2024 Fei Zi Xiao (25g)
This intriguing varietal is sometimes literally translated as Concubine’s Smile (or laugh), but in reality, the tea gets its name from the Feizi Xiao (妃子笑) fruit, a type of lychee so loved by a royal consort that it always made her smile. The name couldn't be more accurate for this stunning varieties, which truly tastes like lychee and peaches. An already luscious varietal gains even more complexity and nuance in the Mr. Li’s capable hands, finished with traditional sun-oxidation and gently fired. The minerality of the Li Family’s volcanic soil comes through beautifully, along with an impressive jasmine and honey aromatic complexity.
2024 Golden Fleece (25g)
This spring harvest Golden Fleece gets its name to honor the soft, rich textural experience of tasting this beautiful small harvest tea. Golden Fleece is hand picked from wild growth (unmanaged) Yunnan Da Bai tea bushes over forty years old. The biodiversity of the growing region and deeper roots mean a more complex flavor and aroma. Only the most perfect large tender buds are hand-harvested, and carefully hand-finished. The down from the buds infuses into every cup, yielding a uniquely thick mouthfeel. This year's harvest is full and complex with cooling cedar, and spiced nutmeg and cinnamon undertones to bolster the luxurious creamy base.
Purple Buds Wuyi Black Tea (25g)
Only a dozen kilos of this unusual tea are picked each year. This year's entire batch was hand picked and processed solely by Li Xiangxi's brother. We are excited to have the opportunity to share a large part of the harvest with you, and to try it for ourselves! The name Purple Buds refers to the color of the buds after picking but before processing. They are actually a light purple green on the tea bush and have a uniquely tropical flavor that sets them apart as a rare and intriguing black tea.
Aged Old Tree Wuyi Gongfu Black (25g)
Under careful airtight conditions, Wuyi teas that are particularly rich and packed with minerality can age into deeper, more complex teas. Li Xiangxi’s personal favorite is to use her old tree Wuyi Gongfu Black, picked from trees approaching one hundred years of age. The Old Tree Wuyi Black gains more foresty notes and deep cooling qualities on the palette that make it thrilling to sip. Li Xiangxi has been aging this Old Tree Wuyi Black tea since 2015, and she kindly shared more than half of what is left of her personal reserve.
Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong Smoked Wuyi Black Tea (25g)
The earliest Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, (or Lapsang Souchong as it is commonly referred to in the West) was never deep-smoked. The smokiness was a natural and subtle addition that came from drying the leaves in a wok heated by pine wood. The smoke from the pine wood naturally mixed with the tea, creating a deeper and more foresty flavor that accentuated the tea's minerality. The Li Family preserves this old-school aesthetic with careful application of smoke from local resinous pine. The sweet, roasted quality of the smoke processing blends with the rich flavor of the tea to yield a dark fruity flavor, and bring front and center the mineral texture of the soil of Wuyi.
2024 Bai Rui Xiang Wuyi Black Tea (25g)
Bai Rui Xiang varietal is named after the Winter Daphne, a heady aromatic flower native to China. Traditionally finished as an oolong, this tea always has a rich nuanced undercurrent of incense spice and cooling tingling minerality. This year, the Li Family saved a small portion of this reserve harvest Bai Rui Xiang to finish as a black tea using old-school sun-oxidation in bamboo baskets at the family workshop in Tongmu. The result is a beautifully complex black tea where the intense florals of the oolong finish take a back seat to the cooling tingling textural excitement this tea has to offer, along for a rich spiced brew full of Wuyi’s famous minerality.
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