Friday Afternoon
IX. For the Tomb (2007 vintage)
IX. For the Tomb (2007 vintage)
Couldn't load pickup availability
This blend is inspired by the Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir. Check out the entire delicious collection here!
The Ninth are near-forgotten. Scraps at the end of the line, holding something precious which few understand. Late winter leaves, battered by harsh weathering and not considered by many to deserve a place at the high table, but oh when they arrive...
This 18 year cave-aged beauty is an odd one. Dark and layered, precisely crafted with intention and intended for a different destiny than its peers. Meet Shoumei, a pure white tea made in the mountains of Fuding, China. The leaves left over when Silver Needle harvest is complete. Generally thrown away, except by the artists who care for it and raise it in darkness to become its most powerful self: a white tea which brews up deep in hue, robust and smooth and absolutely unlike anything else.
Ingredients: 100g of caked 2007 Fuding Shoumei (white tea)
Best brewed at 175° F or 79.4°C for 2-3 min, or over the course of many 30-second infusions. For a more traditional Chinese-style cup, stew over low low heat for an hour and then strain.
Approximately 25mg of caffeine per cup
Share

Based on Friday’s recommendation, I tried this stewed for an hour over super low heat. Ohhhhh, what a transformation! A single steeping of this tea is lightly fruity, with some hay-adjacent grassiness and funk. After an hour, it blooms into a deep, unctuous brew full of honey and wood notes that coats your mouth and throat. I let the last little bit stew for even longer (about 3 hours), and it never went bitter. If you have ADHD like me, this is one of the few instances where wandering off and forgetting your drink will be rewarded.
When you first break the cake you're hit the smell of dried fruits with a spicy almost metallic funk note. The first steep is light and sweet with a bit of that unusual pu'erh funk. The subsequent steeps are more intense but blended, that funk is now part of the whole.
The "cha qi" of this tea will smack you in the head like a sledgehammer. Very relaxing. Be sure to eat something with it though.
This tea is a continuous revelation. It's so good and the packaging is perfect.
Light, delicate, lovely fruity aftertaste. Great presentation. Perfect for gong fu style tea. I'm super sensitive to caffiene and have had no issues with this.
A lovely old white tea with a lot of character! As you’d expect for a shoumei, It’s got quite the assortment of leaves in it, including little furry buds, small second or third leaves, sizable broken pieces of much larger mature leaves, and a few small twigs just for fun. Almost 20 years of aging has been really good to it, yielding a smooth and rich liquor with a beautiful color and positive energy. I brew it gong fu style, and it never gets bitter even after 10+ steeps. And it’s **so** affordable for such an old tea that has aged gracefully.
“I pray the rock is never rolled away…”