2026 Laoman'e

• 300-600 year old trees
• 2026 Spring first pick
• Sourced by Guniangzhai 42, produced by Yu Mekan
  

• Wrapper design by moriz.work

Guniangzhai 42 sourced this tea from a friend of a friend in Laoman'e, Yu Mekan. This tea comes from 300-600 year old trees in an ancient tea garden neighboring the king tree behind the rather famous Laoman’e monastery. The gardens are usually picked and weeded twice a year: once in spring and once in fall. In 2026, there was one spring picking and there probably won’t be a fall picking. This tea comes from the first (and only) picking in spring.

Laoman'e, a Bulang village in the center of Bulangshan, is well-known for its power, bitterness, and deep musk and leatheriness. In this tea, the animalistic character and bitterness lurk in the background while the foreground has a cleaner, complex floral fragrance. The mouthfeel, huigan and qi are intense.

Together with Weidong, the teas show two faces of Bulangshan: this tea is made from gigantic old trees from a famous village while the Weidong is made from dwarfed trees from a lesser-known village. Refined on the one side, raw on the other, both teas are powerful.