Tongmuguan 桐木關

An introduction to Tongmuguan: a collection of black teas, all from unfertilized carefully managed sources, or in the case of the Laocongs, unmanaged wild bushes. We believe these are worthy representatives of contemporary tea-making from this celebrated region.

The Laocong teas come from two different locations, Taoke and Diaoqiao, showcasing higher elevation wild old bushes and how they can express themselves in quite different ways that reflect each tea's unique terroir.

Da (big) and Xiao (small) Chigans can be seen as subcategories of unsmoked zhengshan xiaozhong (lapsang souchong), differing in picking standards, and therefore in the characteristics of the finished tea. Typically the finer picking standard Xiao Chigan would be the more expensive of the two, but we've decided to offer Chigans from two different gardens we believe are of equivalent value.

Yanxun Xiaozhong is traditional pinewood-smoked, with classic lapsang souchong profile of longan fruit and a measured, elegant personality. We believe these benefit from a certain amount of resting, and even aging, so we offer the 2021 alongside the 2015 vintage.