RIPE (SHOU) PUERH and other DARK TEAS
We sell premium teas in 2oz packets unless otherwise specified - about 9-10 Gongfu tea sessions
2016 Menghai Da Yi "Golden Fruit" - 2 oz
The wrapper is so beautiful, I had to check out this tea. Menghai Da Yi is one of the inventors of the wo dui (wet pile fermentation) process for ripe puerh and they know their business! Even though it is young, the soup has a wonderful smooth and thick mouthfeel, sweet and silky, with notes of chocolate, dried fruit (prune and persimmon) and a hint of ripe peach on the finish. It is ready to enjoy now but has a nice structure that will develop over time.
2016 Menghai Da Yi "Hou De" - 2 oz
I feel like 2016 was a good year for Menghai TF teas, so I bought into some. This lovely cake is a fine example of why they are considered to be masters of blending and fermentation. Rich, thick and smooth, ready to drink now. Hou De means "Beyond the Self" and certainly there is an ethereal feeling to be enjoyed while sipping this tea.
2015 Menghai Da Yi 'Elephant Mountain" Ripe - 2 oz
Elephant Mountain is a rare Menghai Da Yi production that was last produced in 2005 with much acclaim and is a cake to collect. However, it is not to early to drink this special tea and savor its complexity. Menghai Tea factory makes so great teas and this is no exception!
Brew with 212 f/ boiling water for best results.
2014 Menghai Imperial Big Tree Gold - 2 oz
2013 Lao Shu Pu Yuan Hao Golden Buds - 2 oz
This lovely premium old treecake is full of golden buds, lending it a lot of sweetness. Smooth and light with classic Menghai aroma and an almost sticky mouthfeel. Brews up dark and thick but never too strong. An easy shu pu for everyday drinking.
2012 Lao Man E Village Ancient Tree - 2 oz
2012 Nanjian Wuliang Shan Phoenix Ripe Tuocha 100 gms
2012 Yong De Loose Ripe - 2 oz
Medium body, clear burgundy soup, soft earthy, coffee, and camphor notes with full mouth feel. Grade 5 leaves yield a nice balance of richness and sweetness.
2011 Premium Mengku Min Ripe Tuocha - 2 oz
2011 Nan Jian TuLin Jin Cha Ripe Puerh 250gms
A full half-pound of thick, sweet ripe puerh in the traditional Jin Cha (mushroom shape) favored by Tibetans. Nan Jian's proprietary blending andfermentation style conjures up nice spice and light wood notes, and a dark burgundy soup.
2011 Long Yuan Hao "Yue Chen Yue Xiang" - 2 oz
Yue Che Yue Xiang means The More Age the Better Aroma. This lovely cake is medium pressed, made with average 7 grade (sized) leaf with some golden buds, and has a clean, dry scent. A light camphor aroma rises off the rinse and the soup is a dark amber color. Notes of prunes, deep roasted malt, fresh cream, sweet earth ,and light ginseng ring in the mouth with a nice, slippery texture that goes down easy. Some of LYH's teas are very good. I am happy with this find!
2011 Langhe TF High Mountain Menghai - 2 oz
2010 Haiwan "Cinnamon Twig Aroma" Ripe - 2 oz
This is a special production from a tea master at Haiwan TF made from single origin, old arbor tree Assamica leaves. It is said to have a natural "cinnamon twig" aroma as a result of masterful fermentation and top notch materials.
Brew at 212 F for best results.
2010 Menghai Golden Needle - 2oz
2010 Menghai Tai Xiang "Ancient Tree" 2oz
2009 Rare and Wild Purple Bud Puerh Ripe 2oz
From our Rare and Wild Collection. Earthy and sweet with underlying jujube notes. A bit more earthy than our 18year Purple brick . Wild purple leaf tea as rare as the Camellia tea tree will give off only one purple leaf for every 30-50 green leaves. They absorb extra UV rays from the sun to protect the tree, thereby producing an amino acid and chemical profile different from regular tea leaves and considered to be more healthful. Drinking purple tea creates a relaxing, expansive state of consciousness suitable for meditation or socializing.
2008 Lan Cha Fang Menghai Tribute - 2oz
Premium Palace grade gong ting cake with lots of golden tips. Brews up rich, smooth, creamy and chocolatey, and has a bit of the prized orchid aroma . As soon as i tasted it, I bought more. My kind of shu pu. 'Nuf said.
2008 Nan Jian Tu Lin TF 903 Wuliang Shan Certified Organic - 2 oz
2008 Zhang Wu Ming Meng Song Shan Ancient Tree 2oz
2006 Fu Hai TF 7576 602 - 2 oz
2006 'Dark Chocolate' Puerh Bar Ripe 100 gms
2006 Mengku Imperial Gong Ting - 2 oz
2006 CNNP Red Label Zhong Cha - 2 oz
Shou puerh lovers will be very happy with this lovely tea. There are a good amount of golden buds and small grade leaves mixed into this cake to give it a rich flavor and aroma that has stood up over the years. Its proper storage is evident. A full, juicy mouthfeel with a load of chocolate notes upfront, give way to a silky smooth sweet finish with hints of brulee. Good stuff.
2006 Pengchen TF Menghai Beauty - 2 oz
2005 YPH Peacock Cake - 2oz
As elegant as a peacock.
2006 Jing Mai Lao Shu "Old Tree" Gongting Puerh Ripe 2 oz
2006 Hai Lang Hao "Gold Hai Lang" - 2 oz
2005 Menghai Lao Cha Tou - 2 oz
Lao Cha Tou - or "old tea heads" - are the little, ultra-fermented knots of ripe puerh found at the bottom of the fermentation pile. Having not being tossed and turned with the rest of the loose tea in the 45 days or so of puerh fermentation, they were found nestled at the bottom where the heat cooked them a little longer. The result: more compression, extra creaminess and thicker mouthfeel, and extended brewing capacity.
These semi-aged, Menghai-sweet cha tou brew up a clear burgundy soup, with light camphor and malt notes. Smooth and mouth watering, so easy to drink! Pop one or two nuggets in a thermos or pot with boiling water and enjoy happy day of tea drinking.
2005 Menghai Gong Ting Loose Ripe - 2 oz
2005 Gong Ting Mengku Ripe Mini Cake 145 gms
2004 Jinuo Shan Big Tree 'Farmer's Brick" - 2oz
2016 Anhua Ben Se Ju Tian Jian 2 oz
We are always on the hunt for unusual teas for our customers.
This wild, Spring Tian Jian hei cha from Hunan is made from handpicked leaves and buds and slow roasted in traditional style to create a complex and aromatic tea with powerful energy. Dried fruit, floral, tobacco, mineral notes are highlighted. Delicious!
2016 Wild Tian Jian Basket He Cha - 2 oz
This hei cha or "Dark Tea" from Hunan, China is made from hand plucked leaves and buds that are slow roasted over low temperature to create a full bodied and complex tea soup with a taste profile that falls somehwere in between an aged Sheng puerh and a Wuyi oolong.
2003 Sun Yi Shun Liu An - 2 oz
Liu An is a wonderful, "hei cha" or "Dark tea" from Keemen County, Anhui Province in China. Made from a small leaf tea varietal that is fermented and then lightly baked over a wood fire. The tea is stored in a bamboo basket and it is traditional to add a piece of the bamboo along with Liu An for your steeping. Aroma is strong petrichor, and the soup is amber, super clean and syrupy sweet.
This tea is always delightful; i love pouring it for seasoned puerh drinkers and watching their reaction of suprise. i brew it gongfu-style with boiling 212 F water.
2010 Wuzhou Three Cranes TF 05117 Liu Bao Hei Cha - 2 oz
2009 Wuzhou Liu Bao "Betelnut Aroma" - 2 oz
A delicious Liu Bao with a nice characteristic betelnut flavor and aroma! We picked up on notes of chocolate, camphor, star anise and sandalwood as well. Yum! Good tea. If no one buys it, we will drink it all no problem.
2009 Xinhua Qu Jiang Bao Pian Hei Cha - 6 pcs
This rare find from Hunan Province, China is a tea of old, re-invented by a researcher who combed through ancient books and visited village folk to save this tea from extinction. Premium materials from the Fengjia and Tianmen mountains are fermented and pressed into coin shapes that brew up a aromatic, flavorful tea. Stock is very limited!
Brew with boiling water in gaiwan for several steepings.
5 pcs (about 1 ounce)
Xinhua County, Hunan Province, China
2008 Anhua Bai Liang Hei Cha - 100 grams weight
Brew with boiling water or simmer the traditional way.
Anhui, Hunnan Province, China
2007 Yiyang Fu Zhuan Hei Cha - 2 oz
This 2007 Hunan Fu Zhuan is specially made for for the Tibetan "Po Cha", or Tibetan Butter tea. Leaves and small stems are coarsely chopped and pressed into traditional brick shape for transport. in Tibet and Mongolia, small amounts of tea are simmered for a time then poured into a churn called a dong mo along with hunks of Yak butter and a little salt and vigorously mixed until aerated and emulsified into a thick, delicious, nutrient-dense broth. Sometimes toasted barley flour or tsampa is stirred in by hand to make a light porridge.
Nowadays, unless you have a Yak in the back, we would use grass-fed butter and a blender (and I like to add a bit of 1/2 and 1/2). Some folks like sugar instead of salt. Either way, it is a delicious tea and good for the brain and energy levels. in fact Po Cha is the inspiration for the Bulletproof craze.
I bring thermos-fulls to work and even newbies love it!
Also delicious brewed up gongfu - style with boiling water. has a nice medicinal sweetness with straw and fungal notes.
Tibetan Po Cha:
1 1/2 T Yiyang Fu Zhuan
3 cups water
1 T grass-fed butter
1/4 c milk or 1/2 and 1/2
1/4 t good sea salt (or 1 t sugar)
Simmer tea in water for 30-45 minutes until reduced down to 2 cups. Strain into blender. Add milk, butter and salt or sugar. Blend (be careful, hot!). Pour into thermos and sip throughout day.