Yunnan Lincang, China | 2020

This is an ancient tree black tea with leaves from 800–1,000 year old trees growing in the mountains of Yunxian at a 2,050–2,300 meter altitude. Yunxian is an area known for its gushu trees (ancient trees not planted by human hands). Usually leaves from such trees are made into sheng puerh, but this is a rare batch of hongcha (literally red tea, but called black tea in the west). This smells amazing with caramelized fruitiness lingering in the nostrils and a fresh feeling on the tongue. It’s almost like a fine dancong in appearance and fragrance but the liquor carries an exquisitely sweet and complex flavor while never becoming bitter. This is a tea to be drunk over the whole day through up to two liters of water. Warm, sweet, clean, refreshing: a perfect brew for fall. Due to their nature, gushu teas are only produced in limited quantities each year and hongcha gushus are even rarer, and so, quantities are limited!