Puerh – The Forest Journeying back into Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna for a later than usual annual immersion into Puerh sourcing, learning and into the clay-heavy heartland of Puerh cultivation. Joined on this journey by Sofie Vercauteren who has been on a months’ long set of immersions into teas’ people, their methods, and into the zones where the glorious green stimulant grows. There is much around Puerh in particular that is linked to the land and this trip reveals some of those

There is much made of a tea’s geographic designation, its altitude, its harvest season, and its growers…and there should be! The earth, the temperate surroundings and the handlers and coaxers of the leaves are to be thanked and acknowledged. Within the Bulang Mountain’s ancient tree forests in southwestern Yunnan. Every effort and breath within the mountains and forests, every little build up to harvest time matters. Harvesting for the purists is a time not simply when leaves

“Discussions about a specific tea should be left until during and after the sipping and too many words simply lead one to question the speaker”. – Ms. Lu, Tea Master – Kunming Pu erh in its ripe or ‘Shou’ version. Artificially aged with bacteria and humidity. Shaped teas were and still are common in the Pu erh world, though not all Pu erh is formed or moulded. There is always time for a little ‘destruction’ when too much mystification takes hold. This applies to everything fr

The Leaves Arrive There is something called a tea sweat, and I’m experiencing it. So is Andrew, and for someone of 250 lbs of Irish-Scotch bulk and a 6ft 7inch frame, this first time is something to enjoy, cherish, and in some small part despise. It is something that entirely takes you. It encourages with stimulant power while opening every pore of the body. Maloh harvests leaves will soon be in a pan frying We are both ripped on Pu erh tea, and Andrew is a sopping mess of a