Somewhere in the mist covered mountains of Yunnan, China the lid to a tea kettle tap dances sweetly and erratically, bringing its owner back from his mid-morning daydream. In front of him is a new sample of Mao Cha, unfinished tea. As he lifts the lid of his petite teapot, he pours the boiling water over the leaves in a steady crescendo. Inside the pot, the leaves tumble and swirl until, a few moments later, the liquor is emptied into a glass vessel before it is split between many cups.

This is the moment of truth – one of peak anticipation. Before the brew is sipped, it is Schrodinger’s cat, both crude and refined but after it is sipped, it’s dry ink on the page. The man handles this moment with great reverence and determination. Over the course of the morning, he will taste dozens of teas like this one from a host of friends and farmers bringing their crops to him for evaluation. Each leaf delicately plucked and dried to coax out the intrinsic beauty of the terroir.

Hand pouring tea from glass tea pot into three white porcelain cups.

Smith Teaworks, Portland, Oregon

One morning across the globe in SE Portland, an electric teakettle is being roused for the day of work. After a few moments, the water inside stutters and pops like a young hip-hop artist practicing their newest rhymes after school in their room. The employees at Smith Teamaker are beginning their day unaware of the potential treasures hidden in the cardboard packages by the door. Someone opens a box and lets out soft exclamation, interrupting the other one’s updates of the events that transpired in the few hours since they last spoke. Finally, the new samples of Pu-erh are here! 

Several brown bags, each inscribed with the name of the region they hail from in the familiar shaky script of a longtime friend in Yunnan, are pulled from the box and set on the tasting table. The teamakers begin their evaluation routine with the determination of a ballet troupe (although not half as gracefully) by pulling a worn gaiwan from the cupboard, weighing out 7 grams of each sample and setting them neatly in a single file line. Now it’s the lab’s turn to hold their breath. Each treasure is assessed in quick succession so the conversation can hold all the comparison needed for this year’s purchases. This process can seem tedious to some – it can be hard to pin it all down – but at the end of the jam session, the team at Smith chooses two offerings to be pressed into cakes.

Loose leaf tea packed into a cylinder with Nan Nuo Shan Sheng label in the center, ready to be pressed into a cake in the tea factory in Yunnan, China.

Yunnan. China

Now that the selections have been made, the team in Yunnan collects the copy and art needed to create the custom mulberry leaf wrappings for these parcels of compressed tea, known as Pu-erh “cakes". Each one is delicately weighed, formed and pressed for years of aging perfection. At the center lies the “neifei” or “authentication ticket” to prevent counterfeiting and as a point of pride now that the vintage is complete. They are then set in stacks of seven cakes inside hearty bamboo husks and shipped all the way to the Pacific Northwest where they briefly rest before being sent to the homes of people who love tea.

Close up view of Nan Nuo Shan Sheng Pu-erh cake with label in the center of the cake.

Nan Nuo Shan Sheng Pu-erh Cake

The first offering is a tea from the northern edge of Nan Nuo Shan in Menghai County, where a small but mighty tea garden thrives. Its trees are just under 40 years old, grown from the seeds of ancient trees from Ban Po Lao Zhai. These leaves embody the diverse varietals from the old tea gardens, predominantly the Menghai Da Ye Zhong, a large leaf variety that flourishes in the hands of the Aini/Hani people, the caretakers of these trees. With minimal intervention, the garden is carefully tended, with weeding and light pruning to preserve the natural rhythm of the land.

When cupped, our Nan Nuo Shan Sheng Pu-erh boasts a vibrant, pithy sweetness that floods the palate with green summer fruits and is ready to be consumed whenever the fancy strikes you. 

Tian Men Shan Sheng Pu-erh Cake

The Yiwu region, near the China-Laos border, gives birth to the second selection. Here tea gardens stretch across the land, where 20-year-old trees of the local large-leaf varietal stand strong. Tended by the Yao people who have called this land home for generations, the gardens are only picked in spring. The tradition and the land itself weave together in every tealeaf, a testament to the Yao’s deep connection to this borderland.

This Tian Man Shan Sheng Pu-erh offering brims with floral fervor and begs to be stored for years to come so its rugged nature can give way to a more dynamic cup.

Golden brewed Nan Nuo Shan Pu-erh being poured from a glass decanter into two glass Gaiwan cups on a wooden Gaiwan tray.

While you read this story, your kettle is hoping that you’ll reach out and fill it with freshly drawn water. It waits patiently for you to start it up or set it over gentle flames so that it can assist you in your next cuppa. Perhaps you’ll brew something you read about here, thus playing your part in a telephone game of flavor and form; or maybe you’ll brew something else entirely. Whatever you choose, perhaps take a moment to marvel at the stream of tea leaves pouring out all over the world and the cups that they settle in, and just how remarkable that really is.Â