A unique experimental Black that captures all of the deep sweet forest character of an excellent Yunnan Black tea while adding an aged and fermented adult quality to the mix.
This tea was inspired by B.A.D. (Bizarrely Aged Dianhong) - a popular Black tea from Yunnan which had been accidentally stored in a strange way to bring out a fermented and almost alcoholic taste in the tea.
In 2020 we decided to see how we could play with fermentation and ageing in Black tea and we set about finding a fruity and rich Yunnan Dianhong. This Feng Qing tea ticked all of the boxes - raisins, honey, chocolate and wild forests - it was always a winner but could we shift it into a more fermented and aged character?
We pressed the tea into cakes and then wrapped them in bamboo tongs like all of our teas but then we instructed the team in China to seal them completely in airtight wrappings and leave them for two and a half years.
Our thinking was that by keeping the freshly pressed cakes in a low-oxygen environment we may encourage some fermentation.
The cakes arrived in London in late November 2022 and we eagerly opened the wrappings.
BAM! A noseful of ferments hit us. There is a definite transformation with grapefruit and hoppy IPA craft beers blending with Fernet-Branca herbal liqueur's sweet and bitter notes. Add to the mix an aged quality of leather and antique woods.
The change is not as extreme as with B.A.D (which I suspect was kept slightly damp while stored in low oxygen), and the tea retains its original dried fruits and chocolate taste and rich Yunnan foresty personality. The ferments and age are an added layer which does not detract but instead contributes some brightness and maturity.
I am super happy with the results of our experimentation - this is an unashamed brisk and burly Black tea with a unique complexity dancing on the tongue.
We hope that Push Button Smile will be the first in a series of pressed low-oxygen stored Black tea designed for ageing along with your Whites and PuErh.
PLEASE NOTE: This tea has undergone some fermentation and, just like other fermented teas, may have some signs of fermentation such as mycelium lightening of leaves so the surface may have paler sheen than a usual black tea.
