New wood fired #tea jars, with our 2007 Silver and Golden bowl tuo chas for scale.

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 25, 2016 at 12:57pm PDT

2 of our first wood fired tea jars, side by side. These two have slight differences, with one exhibiting a drip effect down the side.

Wet season may not be a good time for harvesting #tea, but it’s perfect for mushrooms, with over half of all species growing in Yunnan. Spent a good portion of the afternoon sorting and cleaning some fresh ‘shrooms for tonight’s hot pot, taking extra care with those highly poisonous red ones.

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 26, 2016 at 12:53pm PDT

Yunnan is an amazing place to live for those who like things that come from the ground. That includes not only tea, but fruit, wild vegetables, and of course mushrooms. The climate can be drastically different depending where you are in the province, and the biodiversity is incredible. At least half of the species of mushroom alone exist within this province, making the late summer months a delicious time for mushroom lovers. It’s also a deadly time though, with dozens of deaths being reported and even more hospital visits thanks to the ingestion of funky fungi.

Wet season may not be a good time for harvesting #tea, but it’s perfect for mushrooms, with over half of all species growing in Yunnan. Spent a good portion of the afternoon sorting and cleaning some fresh ‘shrooms for tonight’s hot pot, taking extra care with those highly poisonous red ones.

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 26, 2016 at 12:53pm PDT

We compared 2 cakes pressed about 1 month apart of each other. The result: not much noticeable difference.

Got some new wood fired teaware waiting in the wings, including this “Gold Coin” xishi pot. And of course there will be a few more non-wood fired #tea toys, such as this Bullet puer pick.

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 28, 2016 at 11:36am PDT

Just showing off more of our teaware, including our Gold Coin wood fired teapot, Dimpled copper cha ze, Sandstorm gong dao bei and Bullet tea pick.

Testing out brewing methods and parameter for a batch of something new… We’re sure more than a few people out there know what this is. #tea

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 29, 2016 at 12:04pm PDT

Part 1 of our 2 cha gao posts. Cha gao, or tea paste, is like an “instant” puer – for lack of a better description. The traditional way of making it, and the method used for the above pictures cha gao, is to essentially boil it over a period of time until it because a paste, then pour it into molds to solidify. After that it’s best to wait at least 1 year for it to air our and develop a better flavour. Brewing methods can vary too, with some people dissolving a whole piece in boiling water, or brewing it gongfu style with multiple infusions, as we have done.

We plan to observe the process firsthand this fall when we return to Yiwu and work with the farmer who produces the cha gao we picked up.

Sampling some cha gao (tea paste) today, which was quite enjoyable, once we found the right parameters. Nothing nefarious here, just #tea. We had 2 types to work with: gushu and young tree, both from the same farmer as our YotM Yiwu. This cha gao is all handmade in Yiwu and then left to rest for over a year before drinking.

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 29, 2016 at 8:06pm PDT

This is what cha gao looks like on its own. Black, sticky and wrapped in tin foil, its appearance makes it looks more illicit than it really is.

Getting ready to release a little more teaware soon, including this double-wood fired xishi teapot. Firing twice brings out the character of the finish more, but also increases breakage. After getting our hands on this pot, we think the risk is well worth it. . . . . . #woodfired #xishi #teapot #teaware #oneofakind #steepstagram #instatea #bitterleafteas #茶 #차 #trà #ชา #té #thee #tee #thé #teh #чай #čaj #tea

A photo posted by Bitterleaf (@bitterleafteas) on Jul 30, 2016 at 11:13am PDT

This was a special pot that has long since been sold. This pot was double fired and features a beautiful metallic orange finish on the bottom and rough grey top. It was hard to let go, but satisfying to know it landed in a good home.