Our signature shoucha varies from one pressing to the next. This latest version is 100% Jingmai Mountain, Mangjing Village old-growth material - a blend of vintages and leaf grades that contribute structure and fullness to this single origin production. Our daily drinker and a terrific foundation for tea practice.
Several batches of Mangjing Village material pile-fermented between 2016 and 2020 were stored loose before being sorted, graded and blended to create this truly exceptional shoucha. The feedback is consistent. This tea harkens back to the very first Xiangtu pressing and is the best we've ever produced. Our characteristic style of shoucha is structured, balanced, and deeply transparent. The first infusion imparts a clarity of mind that expands from one cup to the next.
Xiangtu's wrapper is a painting and poem by the Buddhist nun Ōtagaki Rengetsu created nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, reproduced here on fine Japanese gold-flecked paper. The original hangs in our Jinghong apartment. The poem, translated by John Walker:
古がはら
おちてこけむす
くさむらに
こころながくも
すめる月かな
An old roof tile
fallen and mossy
in the thick grass
the steadfastly
pure-shining moon
We've put craftsmanship and artistry into this tea. Over a decade of drinking, producing and critically assessing shouchainformed its creation. The knowledge acquired through experience that shoucha practice is the cultivation of emptiness guided our choice of artwork. Rustic and refined, this tea embodies the life to which we aspire, an “aestheticism of primitive simplicity.”
We're extremely pleased to present Xiangtu Jingmaishan ... from our hearts & hands to yours!
