Verdant Tea

This bundle includes three 90g mini cakes and one 100g mini cake of Wuyi tea for 370g total (72+ sessions). The Li Family makes some of the most sought-after oolongs in China, grown within the pristine Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, hand-picked  and hand-finished by the Li Family and meticulously had-fired multiple times over several months for deep complexity. The biodiversity and rocky geography of their plot contributes to deep forest-evoking teas with a strong mineral texture.

Take all this exquisite circumstance and add aging into the process and you get some stunningly nuanced powerful teas unlike anything else out there. This tasting kit is a chance to build your own Wuyi tea aging program, and see why pu’er isn’t the only tea that gets better with age. This collection spans twelve years and four unique varietals.

Most years, Li Xiangxi doesn’t do any pressing at all, only selecting harvests that she has had the chance to taste over several months when she determines whether they’d be suitable for aging. When she makes her selection, the family gives these teas even deeper hand-firing before finally pressing these mini-cakes. See for yourself what makes aged Wuyi tea so special.

This bundle includes four 25g bags of Wuyi Oolong for 100g total (20 sessions). This kit is a rare opportunity to try all four of the Wuyi tea varietals recognized as the 武夷四大名枞, theWuyi Si Da Ming Cong. These are the four teas recognized by traditional consensus as the most definitive representation of the flavors, textures and aromas that Wuyi oolong has to offer. If you are interested in getting a glimpse at the aesthetic “standard-bearers” of the weighty Wuyi traditional this is the place to start. These four teas in many ways set the modern vision of the ideal, and their deep minerality, textural complexity and layered aromatics are strived for and judged against at every Wuyi tea competition. With the Li Family’s perfectly situated plot of old growth tea within the true Wuyi Ecological Preserve designation, and their commitment to biodiversity in the fields and meticulous hand firing in the workshop, it is no wonder that their Si Da Ming teas earn them gold medals year after year. With such small harvests it is a rare event to have all four Si Da Ming Cong in stock at the same time. If you are interested in a foundational understanding of the quintessential Wuyi flavor, try these together while they are here

This bundle includes five 25g bags of Wuyi tea for 125g total (25 sessions). Wuyishan is one of the most famous tea growing regions in the world, and true hand-crafted tea from within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve is incredibly elusive with a proliferation of imitations out there. That is why we are so lucky to be working with the dynamic award-winning Li Family, who have been visionaries in restoring biodiversity and forest cover within the preserve and leaders in oolong craft.

Li Xiangxi, founder of the Yangxian Institute of Tea Culture, works with her brother and cousin to finish deep aromatic and wildly complex oolongs, as well as traditional old-school black teas from their ancestral home in Tongmu.

This collection represents a classic tasting curriculum, spanning the most important flavors, textures and aromas to be familiar with in beginning to understand what makes Wuyishan so special. This kit has been put together to provide a foundation to explore the wider Li Family collection with a deep tasting vocabulary, and of course, to come out with a true sense of the Wuyi microclimate.

This bundle includes 25g each of five different Wuyi oolong teas for 125g total (25 sessions). Wuyishan is perhaps the most famous tea growing region in the world, and our partner Li Xiangxi and her family cultivate their award-winning oolongs in a perfectly-situated gorge along the Longchuan river within the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, a pristine environmentally-protected region where biodiversity is key, and tea grows alongside wild bamboo, evergreens, and flowers.

Part of that biodiversity is about encouraging not just the widely known varietals like Rou Gui or Qilan to grow, but also making space for rare and difficult to find varietals not often seen or known outside of Wuyishan. Li Xiangxi believes that each varietal bring its own unique style to the pure expression of Wuyi minerality, and this sampler is a testament to those unique perspectives. Taste through five Wuyi oolong teas - including famous cultivars and less-well-known varietals.

Rock Milk or Shi Ru is an uncommon varietal that the Li Family cultivates on their mist-shaded, mountain spring-fed biodiverse plot within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve. The naturally rocky elements of this tea come through even stronger as they take in the deep minerality of the volcanic rocky soil. As a rare offering, Mr. Li takes the time to bring out the rich mouthwatering lingering yun sensation of this tea through the hand firing at low heat for hours needed to bring out the very best. This varietal is an excellent chance to taste the terroir of the region.

Li Xiangxi's family grows this tea within the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, hand picking every leaf and delicately roasting this tea in bamboo baskets over charcoal embers to bring out the natural minerality of the region. Li Xiangxi's eldest brother oversees the family's oolong teas, and believes strongly in standing against the modern trend to over-roast and cover the natural flavor of the tea. This makes the family's Big Red Robe unique among its peers. While Big Red Robe is named after five original bushes that still stand today in Wuyishan, modern Big Red Robe is made from Qidan varietal, which is known for its tremendous balance, and deep warmth. It is truly the archetypal tea of the region, and the place to start your exploration of Wuyi Oolongs as a grounding point of reference. The LI Family’s Big Red Robe consistently wins gold medals at Wuyi tea competitions.

Tie Luohan (or Iron Arhat) is one of the four famous varietals that define Wuyi oolong teas, making it highly sought after, with true Tie Luohan varietal in low supply. The Li Family uses a meticulously slow hand firing to bring out the varietal’s natural qualities - a balance of minerality, chocolate notes and subtle florals. Delightfully, the tea finishes with cooling cedar and a light lingering sparkle that pushes towards yun.

Rou Gui is quickly becoming one of the most popular Wuyi Oolongs across China for its intense concentrated aroma, and the textural cooling tingling sensation called yun that it shows off at the highest levels. Li Xiangxi and her family’s Rou Gui has been winning gold and silver medals at competition for years due to their incredible skill at coaxing the best aroma from each leaf through slow subtle roasting. This year, they set aside enough of their award-winning harvest for us to share.

Bei Dou is named after the constellation the “Plow,” or the Big Dipper. This tea is most similar to Big Red Robe in terms of big bold flavor and deep resonant texture. The Li Family’s Bei Dou varietal is planted on a cool slope of volcanic rock for a deep minerality. Mr. Li’s insistence on long meticulous yaoqing turning and fluffing bring out big floral and fruit notes in this rare but tremendous offering.

Mei Zhan varietal's uniquely long leaves yield a big bold flavor and an aroma that fills a room. Mei zhan is typically full of big fruity flavor and a strong savory foundation. The Li family heightens the fruity aromatics with their expert roasting and finishing for evocative dried plum and bright tangerine. The biodiversity and rocky soil of the Li Family’s plot within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve.

This beautiful oolong smells like roasted pumpkin seeds and semolina right out of the bag. As we start steeping, we pick up herbaceous & complex rosemary notes along with white pepper & toasted burdock. As the tea opens up, its true nature starts to show with rich candied citrus peel and warm marigold. Through multiple infusions, the tea remains tightly composed, bright and sunny. As the aftertaste builds up, you can taste the beautiful stoney minerality of Wuyishan and the Li Family’s rocky soil.

You might recognize “Bai Mudan” as a white tea. This intriguing harvest is Da Bai cultivar planted in Wuyishan and picked with the classic Bai Mudan mix of leaf and smaller buds, but finished as a roasted oolong. The result is fascinating - a tea with the buddy mouth-filling textural thrill of a traditional Fuding Bai Mudan, but with the minerality and deep roasted flavor of a classic Wuyi Oolong. The aromatics are full of orange zest and licorice root. The first infusions have a bright white tea quality with earthier burdock undertones and coriander spice. Later steepings are rich and aromatic like floral ginger, with hints of juicy blackberry.

Li Xiangxi's family grows this tea within the Wuyishan Ecological Preserve, hand picking every leaf and delicately roasting this tea in bamboo baskets over charcoal embers to bring out the natural minerality of the region. Li Xiangxi's eldest brother oversees the family's oolong teas, and believes strongly in standing against the modern trend to over-roast and cover the natural flavor of the tea. This makes the family's Big Red Robe unique among its peers. While Big Red Robe is named after five original bushes that still stand today in Wuyishan, modern Big Red Robe is made from Qidan varietal, which is known for its tremendous balance, and deep warmth. It is truly the archetypal tea of the region, and the place to start your exploration of Wuyi Oolongs as a grounding point of reference. The LI Family’s Big Red Robe consistently wins gold medals at Wuyi tea competitions.

This tea was hand-fired three times over three months for a much deeper, darker tea. The deep roast makes this tea even sweeter, while bringing out a unique sparkling / cooling sensation that you don’t normally see in Big Red Robe. The textural sensations of the roast accentuate and contrast with the warming flavor of the tea for a powerful dynamic. Each round of hand-firing takes over twelve hours, adding an immense amount of labor to finishing this reserve-level tea, but the natural biodiversity and mineral-driven terroir of the Li Family’s land make this worth the extra effort to finish so meticulously.

Bai Ji Guan is a rare and unique varietal in Wuyi. The Li Family cultivates a small amount of Bai Ji Guan on their mountainside plot. This extremely light, beautiful, almost Dancong-like tea is full of the mineral notes that define Wuyi. It is thick and packed with unique vegetal undertones and florals. The Li Family's careful cultivation and roasting means gorgeous giant light-colored leaves and a bright crisp brew.

Li Xiangxi's family has been hand picking and processing tea for generations. Their tea is fed from a mountain spring, with plants between ten and one hundred years old, all grown traditionally without fertilizers or pesticides and picked by hand by the family. This Shui Xian varietal picking really shines with the Li Family's delicate charcoal roasting process to bring out the deep complex forest notes and minerality that make Shui Xian so famous.

Shui Xian is named after the Narcissus flower (or Daffodil), and the dark roast on this Shui Xian brings out beautiful florals in contrast with dark forest and wood notes. Mr. Li hand-fired this batch of Shui Xian to give its cooling texture even more sparkling, tingling intensity. Shui Xian varietal is known for its foresty woody flavors and deep lingering texture. The Li Family’s biodiverse forested tea gardens within the Wuyi Ecological Preserve help play up the varietals natural complexity.

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.

It takes thousands of buds to make an ounce of this tea, hand-picked near Li Xiangxi’s old family home in Tongmu, in a protected ravine with wild bamboo, orange trees and native flowers growing around old growth wild tea bushes. Once a year in the early spring, Li Xiangxi and her family pick the tiny golden buds off the cultivated tea bushes growing below her family home. The beautiful golden color and flavor of this carefully cultivated Jin Jun Mei (Golden Eyebrows) makes it one of the most prized teas in China.