Mottled Bamboo

This wonderful old-growth shou is very unique. This blend was harvested in 2014 and piled and pressed in 2015. It comes from the Bulang village of Lao Man’e. It was very, very lightly piled. Nowadays, most shou puerh is piled heavily, fermenting the tea fully. This means that it can mellow out over time, but not really age well. Also, some of the vibrance and energy of the natural leaves are lost in the piling, which is especially harsh on old-growth leaves. Lightly fermented shou puerh like this can be aged and preserve the forest truth. This is a very smooth and delicious puerh, and you won’t believe how cheap it is when you taste it. The cost/quality of this brick is stellar.

A lot of friends have been offering to donate tea to help raise money to build our Center. If you have been on a Global Tea Hut annual trip, many of you have met Rou Yin. If you haven’t met her, you can read translations of several of her articles in the magazine. Due to her kindness, these giant 500 gram bricks are very affordable.

Legend has it that when Emperor Shun died suddenly, the tears of his two concubines, the Xiang River goddesses Nüying and Ehuang, dropped onto surrounding bamboo and stained it forever. This tea is open and fresh, tasting very different from your usual shou. It is minty, cool and bright. It has plenty of room to age and is also very wonderful steeped or boiled as it is.