Shu Pu-erh

Pu-erh tea comes from Yunnan, China, and is made in two styles: raw (sheng) and ripe (shu). This collection is shu pu-erh. Before it is finished, the leaf goes through wo dui: it rests in warm, damp piles for several weeks while microbes break down its bitterness. The method was developed in the 1970s to give the deep, mellow character that raw pu-erh gains only after long aging.

The result is a dark, smooth, earthy cup with natural sweetness that keeps developing across steeps. Raw pu-erh skips the piling and changes slowly with age; for that style, browse our sheng pu-erh collection.