2023 Kokang Shu - Pu´er Tea

incense - licorice root - raisin

This tea combines Yunnan fermentation expertise with high-altitude tea tree leaves from Myanmar: a rounded, refined shu with real depth.

This shu cha is unusual in both origin and character: the leaves come not from Yunnan but from Kokang, an autonomous region in Myanmar's Shan States, grown as real tea trees above 1,000 metres rather than the low-altitude bush cultivation most shu cha relies on today.

That distinction matters, bush leaves usually need heavy fermentation to compensate for what they lack in substance, which tends to flatten a tea's character. These leaves were fermented in Menghai, Yunnan, which is still the region with the deepest expertise in shu cha, using a moderate, balanced approach rather than the heavier style that is more common.

The result is rich without being heavy: woody, elegant, with notes of incense, licorice root and raisin over a round mineral base. Closer in character to the shu cha of decades past than to what's typically made today.

We're happy to offer this tea from the collection of Olivier Schneider, a tea expert with over 20 years of experience researching Pu'er taste, processing and culture. After a decade in Yunnan, he now lives in Thailand, where he cultivates a centuries-old tea garden and continues to explore and experiment with tea, sharing his knowledge through teaching and writing.

Best brewed gong fu style: use a ca. 100ml gaiwan or small teapot with 5-9g of tea (break off as much as needed). Start with a 5-second infusion at 95°C, then add about 5 seconds to each steep that follows. 

100g

origin: Kokang, Myanmar/ fermented in Menghai, China / from the collection of O. Schneider
harvest: 2023
processing: medium fermentation (shu)