Newsletter Archive Nov. 12, 2021

Like a cold snap of autumn, new Wuyi rock wulong is here. This weekend, we’re featuring three of our personal favorites from the new crop: Ba Xian (Eight Immortals), Rougui (Cassia Bark), and Que She (Sparrow’s Tongue).

Toasty, sweet and complex. It’s what you need for the back porch.

The fresh group of rock wulong are eight teas from two different makers: Zhou Yousheng and Liu Dexi. Both men are natives of Wuyishan who started learning tea in their teenage years. They’ve been there for the meteoric rise of Wuyishan’s prominence from sleepy mountain town to the seat of “China’s Yellowstone.” They’ve seen their craft as rock wulong tea makers enshrined in the intangible cultural heritage of China. They’re not resting on their laurels, though.

Every year is a new pursuit of perfection. Even more than other teas, rock wulong is dynamic.  With each new year, tea producers are making calls on when to pluck, how long to wither, how long to oxidize, how hot and how long to roast. Everything is done to bring out the special character of each batch of leaves, to make the most of labor and resources on hand, and to suit the tastes of the market.

The year they’ve squarely hit the mark. Rock wulong’s stand out aromas: fruit, floral, and resinous fragrant wood are thick and persistent in each of these teas. Here’s looking forward to keeping warm with these beauties for the cool months to come.