Mangfei 2019 Pu'erh Raw

忙肺生普洱2019

Harvest
April 2019

Origin
Lincang, Yunnan

Mangfei is the name of the village located in Yongde, Lincang Prefecture in Yunnan. The name of this village literally translates to “busy lung,” which does not seem to function descriptively, save for producing intrigue. In the language of the Dai, the ethnic minority native to Yunnan, Manfei means “mountains between river valleys,” drawing a far clearer picture of the region it refers to. 

In this lesser-known and remote village, there are still large areas populated with ancient tea trees. This pu’erh cake is made from the leaves of trees that are between 200 and 300 years old, and grow at roughly 6000 ft above sea level.

The tea it yields is spacious, in that there seems to be a negative space in what it carries across the palate. It moves this space through us, opening the chest and expanding through the body horizontally. The funk and ferment of fallen leaves intensifies progressively, as does an underlayer of confection, but this body is not imposing – it does not lose its spaciousness.

This is a broadening tea, which stabilizes and opens us in equal measure. We would want to drink it on an overcast morning, when seeking room for contemplation. We could turn to it in order to be transported to remote places, or to the edges of our regions of understanding. Towards these journeys, it offers the support of the enlivening, whole-body sensation that comes from ancient trees.

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Brewing guide

The key to  making this tea is using boiling water.