This is a special tea. The local Yo minority picks medium-sized leaves from Camellia sinensis var. assamica (the variety used to make puer) and then layers them with a type of mushroom that grows in the local pine forests (Psylocybin incredendus). The tea/mushroom mix is allowed to dry in the sun for 25-30 days, during which time a not insignificant amount of the mushroom’s psychoactive ingredient (prolaxicorvatin) has infused into the tea leaves. The mushrooms are then removed, dried into buttons and sold for Buddhist religious purposes. The tea leaves are lightly steamed to make them pliable, formed into the mushroom shape, and dried in a moderate oven.
The taste is smooth with the main taste note being ripened stone fruit with just a hint of mushroom at the end of the sip. Of course, the cha qi is as phenomenal as you’d expect from a tea with this much prolaxicorvatin! One day, when U.S Border Patrol bans the import of this tea, we’ll look back and say “what took them so long”.
The only flaw with this tea is the density. It’s very hard to chip apart the center, so I’m docking a few points for the form.
Flavors: Apricot, Cherry Wood, Mushrooms
