Brewing up the nature of all things,
breathing in the essence of this
wild mountain leaf,
we connect with the scent
of past loves, past lives;
Ancient smoke and yogi sweet.
If we listen intently,
the wise tea sage,
through its subtle yet direct teaching,
sits us down and tells us
of ways lost
and the new paths awaiting us
as we rediscover them.
-Garret inspired by our Wild Monk pu’er
This particular pu’er is very special in that it was picked from tea trees grown entirely in the wild, surrounded by all the native floral and fauna, exposed to nothing but clean air, high-altitude and sunshine. The tea grows quite dark, almost purple as it has adapted to the high levels in sunshine, protecting itself from the UV rays. For us humans that means we get a tea that is even higher in antioxidants.
This is a product of our April 2012 buying trip to China. We are so excited by this tea and have commissioned the pressing of 300 cakes of this leaf for long-term storage and aging. Customers are raving about this tea and we have had many repeat buys!
Almost no bitterness is present in the infused tea liquor, even when brewing at higher temps, though most of our customers are enjoying this at water temps of 175 to 190 degrees. This is delicious in the tea glass style of brewing, as well, but should definitely be enjoyed gongfu style at least once!
The dry leaf has a sweet, smoky aroma and even those who have not been fans of smoke are enjoying this tea. So sweet and full in the mouth with a tea energy that will leave you feeling fantastic! You will keep coming back for more!
We are so excited to be one of the first tea companies in the US to offer such a rare tea to our customers. It is much worthy of the rave reviews it is getting!
I should get some of this while I still have some of the previous one, so I can compare them :) I’m way overdue for a Mandala order anyway, & thanks to online itunes sales, I actually have some money in my playpal account!
Great to know, Stephanie…I’m still sipping on my 2012, but those days are almost gone :-(
I ordered another 2012 cake that I may hoard forever and ever, lol.
I love them both. I love the 2012 version so dearly and was certainly anxious to see what the autumn 2013 mao cha would turn into once pressed. I dig it. Totally drinkable now. And yes… waaaaay less smoke, due to processing and time of year it was harvested. Lots to hold my interest in the new pressing, for sure. So excited that I could make another pressing happen.
It’s fun to get down with the Wild Monk no matter what vintage. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that makes sense, am I right?
We have only a few tongs left of the Wild Monk 2012. One of them is mine :)
Grooviness to you all,
Garret