Tobacco Class offerings exhibit cured leaf properties, often sweet like pouch chewing or pipe tobacco. Fruit is a common compliment but the personality is darker and heavier. Smoke, though it may be present, is is not the prevalent characteristic. Rather, its forte tends to be complexity, with wood, whiskey, tequilla, amaretto, attars of oud and sandalwood, cypress, or worn leather being present.
’13 Double Happiness
Sweet juicy dark plums balanced with petrol and smoke. Xiaguan Tea Factory, a pillar of the puerh tea industry; half state-owned translating to well below market pricing. In Los Angeles since April ’21.
’12 Cherry Blossom
The ’12 Cherry Blossom is a difficult to classify raw puerh hailing from Sakura Valley, Dali. Sweet, rich, with instant and long lasting huigan. Smoky influence varying upon season. Mouth watering astringency, alonh wafting jasmine backdrop and the allure of vanilla. Cherry sourness. Spring tea with buds and mostly size 3-4 leaves from Mt. Wuliang. Originally stored in Dali, in Los Angeles since May ’20.
’09 Francisco Chapparal
Take sweet chapparal grasses, crush to release essence for fermentation. You get penetrating musk melon complexity, velour thickness, and black pepper bitter kick. Silver pekoe, mini iron cake, Mt Daxueshan. Mengku Rongshi. In Los Angeles since Jan ’23.
’08 Buddha Impressions
The first impressions of the broth are sweet, soft, and smooth but with a balancing. Little astringency. The mouthfeel is thick and round with a daisy chain of taste suggestions, particularly amaretto. Long, sticky-sweet huigan. Jinggu material from Jinggu TF. Stored in Los Angeles since Nov ’20.
‘08 Spiced Prunes Tuo
What if cinnamon– and clove-spiced prunes were prepared in a mechanic’s garage and stored in a baseball mitt workshop? Mouth watering divinity. Enveloping qi. Puerh pillar Xiaguan Tea Factory. Stored in Los Angeles since ’20.
’06 Fruit Phantom
Smoke aroma, liquid velvet, light-roast jackfruit, oak cask rum fruitcake. Dry stored, in LA since May 2021.
’04 Red Ribbon Valley
Lingcang terroir tuo inviting incense vibe, wet aroma of sweet spiced pears. Sweet tobacco, light smoke huigan from nicely sweet broth with instantaneously uplifting qi. Stored in LA since Jan ’23.
’02 James Brown
James Brown expresses wicker, lacquer, spice, and incense along a dense sweet backdrop of fermented autumn leaves. Yiwu material. Stored since April ’21.
