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.

This spectacular high elevation yellow tea is made entirely from perfect buds, and scented with orchids for a deep, rich, well integrated flavor and aftertaste. Called Ta Xue Lan Fei  Yellow Tea, or snowy orchid Yellow Tea, the tiny buds are allowed to wither with fresh Xuelan varietal orchids and slowly absorb their aroma over several days. The yellow tea process requires a 'smothering' or covering of the buds for more complex oxidation after sha qing. These unique steps lock in a fresh flavor somewhere between white tea and green tea with all the textural silkiness of Silver Needle White and the minerality and crisp aftertaste of Dragonwell Green.

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 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.

Golden Strand is one of Yunnan's iconic "Dian Hong" black teas, hand picked and carefully shaped to show off luxurious downy buds and golden color. Wang Yanxin has a longstanding relationship with a farmer's cooperative in Lincang, giving her access to this competition-grade te, with a distinctive flavor unlike Golden Fleece or classic Yunnan Golden Buds style black teas. The Golden Strand has a more buttery and rich flavor. with notes of whipped cream, graham cracker, fruit pie and clove.

Yongming Workshop loves focusing on single origin cakes, highlighting what makes a region iconic, leaning on their decades of sourcing connections for access to leaf material like this- hand-picked from trees up to five hundred years old, growing wild in the prized Banzhang region. For pile fermentation, Yongming brings in specially selected spring water to add moisture and encourage deep dark flavor for this cake in a way that complements the tea's natural aroma. Picked in 2017, this tea was pressed in 2022 after aging loose for an even rich complexity.

This 2018 buds-only gongting pressing comes from one of Wang Yanxin’s oldest partners and favorite blenders - Yongming Workshop. She loves Yongming for the way that they highlight the flavor profiles of specific regions- in this case, Bulang Shan. This pressing has rich sweet notes of brown sugar and biscotti, with a touch of nutmeg and candied rose - like  a perfectly considered plated dessert.

This blended sheng pu’er from Wang Yanxin’s personal collection was chosen for its lilac florals and tropical pineapple juicy qualities, a uniquely sweet tinging sheng pu’er with deep brown sugar notes and a touch of spice already building up after only several years of aging.

This 2019 harvest was allowed to age loose for three years to kickstart deep complexity before being pressing into cakes for long term aging in 2022. Picked near Banpo Village in Nannuoshan, this single-origin cake from Yongming Workshop shows off Nannuoshan’s deep complexity with notes of chestnut, marshmallow and nutmeg, with a soft rich velvety texture. Notes from Yongming’s blender: Growing in a beautiful wild environment of Banpo Village, this is a special cake worthy of long term aging, with a deep nuanced brew and vibrant color, honeyed and aromatic on the first sip and a rich satisfying texture and pure classical aromatic profile

The smaller Wan Yuan Workshop released this sheng pu’er as part of their Ma Dui Zhang or caravan collection, commemorating the tea horse trail. This unique single origin sheng pu’er from Bingdao is incredibly packed with fruit-forward flavor. Thick wild raspberry and guava, with a touch of honey. Tulsi blossoms and licorice come through in the aftertaste, along with a ringing mineral-laden textural experience.

This 2019 harvest was allowed to age loose for three years to kickstart deep complexity before being pressing into cakes for long term aging in 2022. The Da Xue Shan Lincang provenance gives this a unique honey, basil and dried apple flavor with a very classic, sweet balanced aftertaste. Notes from Yongming’s blender: Da Xue Shan pu’er is known for its smooth rich body and wild mountain aromatics, drawn from the deep forest where the leaves are painstakingly hand-picked. Small production. Golden vibrant color, sweet and fragrant on the first sip with a strong intense, mouth-watering aftertaste.