Verdant Tea

This unique buddy black tea offering from Wang Yanxin is only possible because of her deep connections in both Henan and Laoshan. Her farmer friends produce extremely tiny bud Xinyang Maojian, a fine downy showstopper of a green tea. The second picking of the year is still all delicate downy buds, but tradition dictates only the first harvest is used for Henan's iconic buddy green tea. Wang Yanxin works to rush-ship fresh tea leaves the day they are picked from Henan all the way up to Laoshan Village, where they are allowed to traditionally oxidize in the sun to make a black tea, and then finished using Laoshan's extremely honed-in roasting and finishing techniques to combine the buddy steamed bun texture of Jin Jun Mei with the chocolatey goodness of Laoshan Black. This cross-province collaboration continues to prove that the world of tea is still full of innovators, pushing the boundaries of tradition.

This pu'er exemplifies all the reasons we like to set our favorite cakes aside and let them age for years. The 10+ years in Wang Yanxin's climate-controlled aging cellar give this tuocha that iconic foresty, cooling almost sparkling quality that makes pu'er so interesting. The cooling texture is accented by notes of rose, juicy papaya and rich black sesame. 

This unique and powerful shu pu'er from Lincang Fenjie Workshop is particularly deep and dark, with spicy ginger, cooling mint, and a big dessert-like undertone. The buddy leaf material gives this cake depth and texture, while nearly a decade of aging adds beautiful complexity.

This organic-certified pu'er cake from Li Ming Chen Workshop carries their Ba Jiao Ting mark, a designation of their finest pressings. The old tree leaf material combined with over a decade of aging makes this a deeply complex, richly-spiced tea, packed with minerality and depth.

This refreshingly crisp Shu Pu'er from the smaller Zhi Chun Feng Workshop was picked in 2015 and pressed in 2019. The beautiful mix of golden downy buds and deep dark tender leaves makes for a perfect balance of deep fruity undertones, foresty sweet spice, and savory biscuit bread qualities. The aftertaste has a slightly cooling quality that is sure to get deeper with age.

Yang Ji Tian Yuan Workshop has selected wild arbor high elevation tea from old-growth trees for this deeply complex and generously-aged offering. Sweet cinnamon, cooling tingling mint and floral aromatic rose and vanilla come together for a classic juicy tingling Shu Pu'er packed with nuance and textural depth

Yongming Workshop makes elegant and supremely drinkable Pu'er. This Bulangshan offering is unusually floral with notes of violet and tropical jasmine balancing out the dark molasses and thick lingering texture. Expect a cooling aftertaste and complex spice profile that will get deeper with age.

Yiwu is famous for its cooling foresty Pu'er, and this cake is no exception. Notes of fresh mint and cardamom show the best of classic Yiwu with extra nuance and complexity of tulsi, juicy muscat grape and a deep rye flavor. This depth comes from the "yuanshengtai" designation which means that the tea was harvested in a balanced ecosystem with forest cover and wild plants left intact.

Banzhang region is famous for its sweet, numbing spiced sheng pu'er with its iconic ringing aftertaste. Yet, it is rare to get to try a Banzhang tea so freshly-pressed. Old-school Banzhang was often too smoky to taste young, but Xingyi workshop relies on careful low-temperature finishing for a sweet, dessert-like sheng pu'er that is ready to drink less than a year after picking. A tea this good at this age is destined for even more complexity and nuance over the years to come.

This iconic big leaf sheng Pu'er has over 15 years of age for a deep, rich, incredibly complex flavor and texture. Big leaf Pu'er is going through a renaissance in Yunnan right now as more farmers recognize the crisp, sweet textural quality that big leaves can bring to a Pu'er cake. The large leaves were mostly shunned in the early 2000's in favor of "prettier" buds, so this cake is a rare find- part of Wang Yanxin's cellar collection. We first tried this cake in 2008, and the transformation is incredible. The tea is deeply spiced and cooling, with a tingling textural quality.

This special Fu Shou Xiang series from Tiandiren Workshop highlights the unique single-origin flavor profile of Bulangshan. While Bulangshan is always texturally nuanced, this standout has a unique orange and clove profile that is reminiscent of simmering cider, along with brown sugar cake and deep vanilla florals.

Nearly a decade ago Wang Yanxin worked with a tiny cooperative in Banzhang to press an incredible sheng pu’er that we have been asking her to bring back ever since. This year she opened her pu’er reserve and pulled out this gem for the first time - a 2007 cake with nearly 15 years of age, and the same nutty licorice-like numbing sweetness that we loved in the first Banzhang collaboration Wang Yanxin brought us. We’re so excited to get to taste and share this limited standout from Fuhai Workshop.

Yongming Workshop loves highlighting single origin pressings like this standout Yiwu Shu pu’er. In single-origin pressings Yongming gets to show off the work of their farmer-partners without having to blend flavor profiles. This Yiwu standout is packed with Yiwu’s signature cooling forest flavors, along with aromatic fruit and dark buckwheat honey notes.

Gong Ting shu pu’er is pressed from delicate downy buds for a uniquely sweet profile. This Menghai pressing is unique among gong ting style for its incredibly clean light and floral qualities. Often buddy material means a certain heaviness on the palate, but not here. This is a beautiful fruity cake with spice and vanilla aftertaste that stays light on its feet.

Tiandiren Workshop blends beautiful shu pu’er. They are known for their deep fruity spiced profile and the sweet clean balanced aftertaste they bring to every cake. This offering is as smooth as any of Tiandiren’s best work, but goes off in an incredible unique direction with notes of basil, ginger and rose along with classic cooling qualities and sweet vanilla.

Zhang Xiang literally means camphor fragrance, and is used to describe those special pu’ers with deep cooling notes that transport us to pine forests after a long rain. This cake is all about its cooling sensation. Surprisingly, while zhang xiang cakes are usually incense and spice forward, this cake brings out nuanced tropical fruit and jasmine florals to accent the first notes.