Shu Pu-erh [Lao Cha Tou] 2020

Lao Cha Tou — literally "old tea heads" — the naturally-formed nuggets that clump together during a shu pu-erh's wet-pile fermentation, where the pectin released by the process fuses smaller leaf pieces into small, dense chunks instead of loose strands. They're not pressed into shape at all — what you see is exactly how the tea came together on its own.

This batch is from Menghai, one of Yunnan's core pu-erh-producing counties, made in 2020 and left to age in a dry, ventilated warehouse for about three years before packing, so it's had real time to mellow rather than being sold straight off the fermentation pile. Because the nuggets are dense, they hold up to more infusions than loose leaf and are genuinely hard to over-steep — brew them gongfu-style (a quick rinse, then short 8-second-ish infusions to start, extending as the leaf opens up), or simmer the spent nuggets in a pot afterward; Lao Cha Tou is one of the few pu-erh styles that's just as good boiled as it is steeped.