Master Zhou takes the utmost care to “let the leaves speak,” pressing each batch of leaves differently to bring out their best, either as a looseleaf sheng, a black tea or a pressed cake or brick of tea. This brick of tea is wild-picked in the oldest tea forest in the world, deep in the Mt Ailao national forest preserve. The leaves picked are from three to five hundred year old trees whose roots draw more nuance and complexity from the soil. This tea is stone pressed and bamboo wrapped.