Master Zhou works with his students in the Qianjiazhai Dongsa Cooperative to introduce shu pu’er fermentation and crafting techniques more widely across the mountain. This buddy, clean, and rich pressed is crafted from pre-Qingming harvest 'gong ting' buds. This tea was allowed to age loose for a decade before pressing into 250g bricks, giving it a nuanced, engaging and extremely clean profile. The bud material yields a thick rich mouthfeel with sweet, lingering spice.

This is just the second year this tea has been made. The Gu Hua harvest is an early autumn picking possible only in the cool high elevation mountaintops of Qianjiazhai, favored by Master Zhou for its fruity, rich flavor. In years past, this has been used exclusively for sheng pu’er. This year, a small portion was set aside to sun-oxidize as a black tea. The results are stunning! It has all the juicy flavor of the sheng pu’er but with creamy nutty depth only possible in a black tea.