Verdant Tea

This spring harvest pre-Qing Ming white tea is traditionally scented and made with Da Bai varietal white tea. This white tea is not sprayed with artificial oils or aromas. Instead, it is dried together with fresh jasmine blossoms scattered among the buds, allowing the natural aroma of the jasmine to absorb over several days into the tea itself. The process of adding fresh wild Yunnan jasmine blossoms is repeated six times over six days to get a full rich and creamy infusion that holds its intense sweetness and natural potency over many steepings. The creamy dessert-like Yunnan silver needle white tea is the perfect delicate pairing with Lincang's local luscious jasmine.

Lady Zhu Rong was a legendary dagger-wielding warrior-queen of Yunnan descended from a god of fire. The toasty-savory spice and sweet, creamy boxy of this Yunnan black tea evoke the kingdom of Dian, an independent state before it was conquered by China and renamed Yunnan. Dian Hong is a relatively new kind of tea introduced in the 80's that has recently taken China by storm for its full body and depth of flavor that comes from its signature downy buds. While budset black teas from Fujian tend to be very crisp, Yunnan golden bud harvests like this Zhu Rong are much bigger and creamier.

Yabao is picked from compact winter buds, and sun dried for a unique and genre-challenging flavor between white tea and pu'er. It takes established trees and very early picking to capture these multi-layered buds that are full of sweetness & intriguing spice. While yabao matures with age, it does not develop earthy flavors like traditional pu'er.

This spring harvest Yunnan black tea 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.

Sui Yin Zi (also called "Broken Silver") has swept China in the last few years as a new craze, thanks to the fact that good Sui Yin Zi is impossible to over steep and can be brewed all day without exhausting the leaves. The flavor is sweet, clean, and cozy. Sui Yin Zi is not that different from Lao Cha Tou (shu pu'er nuggets), formed of individual leaf clusters that clump together during fermentation. This Sui Yin Zi is from Wang Yanxin’s longtime partners at Longyuanhao workshop, ready for further aging or drinking now.

This exquisite offering from Wang Yanxin combines the very best of two of our favorite teas - Yunnan White Jasmine and Golden Fleece. Huge buds are picked from Yunnan Da Bai, a varietal normally used for white tea. These buds are allowed to fully oxidize into black tea, but during oxidation and drying, wild jasmine blossom are scattered among the buds, allowing the natural aroma of the jasmine to absorb over several days into the tea itself. The jasmine flowers have to be changed and renewed six times over six days to get a full aromatic infusion that lasts over many steepings. The old craft of true jasmine scenting is a slow laborious process, but the results are worth it. This tea is as rich and sweet as Golden Fleece and as luscious as Jasmine.

Lady Zhu Rong was a legendary dagger-wielding warrior-queen of Yunnan descended from a god of fire. The toasty-savory spice and sweet, creamy boxy of this Yunnan black tea evoke the kingdom of Dian, an independent state before it was conquered by China and renamed Yunnan. Dian Hong is a relatively new kind of tea introduced in the 80's that has recently taken China by storm for its full body and depth of flavor that comes from its signature downy buds. While budset black teas from Fujian tend to be very crisp, Yunnan golden bud harvests like this Zhu Rong are much bigger and creamier.

This spring harvest Yunnan black tea 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.

This exquisite offering from Wang Yanxin combines the very best of two of our favorite teas - Yunnan White Jasmine and Golden Fleece. Huge buds are picked from Yunnan Da Bai, a varietal normally used for white tea. These buds are allowed to fully oxidize into black tea, but during oxidation and drying, wild jasmine blossom are scattered among the buds, allowing the natural aroma of the jasmine to absorb over several days into the tea itself. The jasmine flowers have to be changed and renewed six times over six days to get a full aromatic infusion that lasts over many steepings. The old craft of true jasmine scenting is a slow laborious process, but the results are worth it. This tea is as rich and sweet as Golden Fleece and as luscious as Jasmine.

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.

Yabao is picked from compact winter buds, and sun dried for a unique and genre-challenging flavor between white tea and pu'er. It takes established trees and very early picking to capture these multi-layered buds that are full of sweetness & intriguing spice. While yabao matures with age, it does not develop earthy flavors like traditional pu'er.

Sui Yin Zi (also called "Broken Silver") has swept China in the last few years as a new craze, thanks to the fact that good Sui Yin Zi is impossible to over steep and can be brewed all day without exhausting the leaves. The flavor is sweet, clean, and cozy. Sui Yin Zi is not that different from Lao Cha Tou (shu pu'er nuggets), formed of individual leaf clusters that clump together during fermentation. This Sui Yin Zi is from Wang Yanxin’s longtime partners at Longyuanhao workshop, ready for further aging or drinking now.

Bingdao has become one of the most famous pu’er growing regions in Yunnan for its unique microclimate that tends to yield cooling lingering aftertaste. This beautiful cake is mainly silver buds and small leaf, loosely compressed for ideal aging. Already cellared for five years, this tea is full of big cooling tingling yun, big minerality and foresty complexity. This is an excellent opportunity to invest in the Bingdao region and see the reward as this continues to deepen with greater complexity over the coming years. It is becoming harder and harder to actually acquire true Bingdao sheng as it is becoming wildly popular (and expensive) in China. Luckily, Wang Yanxin was able to acquire these cakes before the market for Bingdao shot up, and she is passing them on without ‘adjusting’ for market pricing.

This special sampler includes six 25g samples from larger 357g cakes normally unavailable in smaller sizes for 150g total (30 brewing sessions). Get to know both classic and obscure sheng and shu pu'er from workshops all across Yunnan. Exploring the world of pu'er can be difficult if you need to invest in full 357g pressed cakes before getting to try them. This sampler is a chance to try both single origin and blended workshop cakes and get to know what you like most. From cooling, tingling foresty sheng pu'er to cozy rich caramel-spice shu, you'll get to see how much variety there is in pu'er. The cakes sampled are all 'best of their class' examples, some with substantial aging, generally from smaller workshops dedicated to direct farmer partnerships. If you've been looking for a way to get a real deep dive in pu'er, this is it! 

Wang Yanxin has been working with farmers in Yiwu for over fifteen years. She has recently partnered with the Najiao Farmer’s Cooperative to offer this extraordinary example of Yiwu’s trademark zhang xiang, the camphor-like cooling flavor that the tea picks up from such a high elevation biodiverse environment. The loose compression was expertly handled by Tian Long Tea Co, giving the tea enough circulation for even aging and easy breaking when it comes time to drink. Wang Yanxin has been able to age this tea out seven years to bring out rich sandalwood spice and forest flavors.

One of Wang Yanxin’s first collaborations all the way back in 2001 was with a Banzhang farmer’s cooperative. Over years Banzhang has become one of the most popular (and expensive) sources for pu’er in Yunnan, but Wang Yanxin’s deep connections there have helped her secure true Banzhang 2013 sheng at 2001 prices. This beautifully-pressed bud and silvery leaf cake is full of the signature and unmistakable nutty banzhang aftertaste that gets sweeter and almost numbing after multiple infusions. We’ve been aging Banzhang teas for almost twenty years, and can say that they continue to deepen while becoming sweeter, and even more cooling and texturally stunning over time. This tea has a five year headstart with big cedar notes and deep minerality. Don’t miss this chance to explore the utterly singular terroir of the famous Banzhang region.

The #6676 blend shu pu'er from Hongfu Workshop is about sweetness and balance, with notes of grains and sugars supported by vanilla and a hint of cedar and nutmeg. Over ten years of age have mellowed this classic tasting profile for beautiful sipping now. The decade of careful storage in relatively dry northern China lifts the sweetness with spiced depth, and adds a thick rich texture that can only continue to age into even more complexity over time.

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.

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.

This small production pressing features tender young leaf material for a stunningly sweet brew packed with juicy apricot notes, nutmeg spice and a touch of floral aromatics. The nearly ten years of age give this cake a rich almost 'oaky' quality, thanks to Wang Yanxin's careful constant humidity cool temperature cellaring.

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

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 younger sheng from Xingyi workshop is packed with beautiful herbaceous spice and floral notes. With basil, mint, chervil and rose, the first sips are like a Mediterranean garden. As the tea opens up, it reveals a deep juicy cooling mouthwatering quality that hints at incredible complexity that will continue to develop for years to come.