Old School '98

Some teas reveal themselves slowly. This one does not.

From the first session, this tea felt exceptional. Its intensity, maturity, and sheer presence were impossible to overlook — the kind of tea that immediately changes the atmosphere around the table and makes everyone pay closer attention.

This ripe pu-erh was made from leaves harvested in the third quarter of 1998 in the Menghai area — one of the historical centres of pu-erh production in southern Yunnan.

The local tea landscape stretches across mountain slopes at approximately 1,200 to 2,200 metres above sea level. A warm and humid subtropical climate, abundant rainfall, forest vegetation, and pronounced differences in altitude create a complex mosaic of terroirs. The raw material is connected with the mountain areas of Bada, Bulang, Mengsong, and Nannuo, each with its own ecology, soils, and local tea-tree populations.

The tea was processed by Master Yukan, a producer from the Bulang ethnic minority — a people whose history and culture have been closely intertwined with tea cultivation in southern Yunnan for generations. Her work focuses on the mountain regions surrounding Menghai and on preserving the strength and distinct character of their mixed tea-tree material.

At first glance, the leaf appears robust and naturally rustic. In the finished tea, however, this structure becomes a source of remarkable depth and intensity. It is a compelling example of how experienced processing can reveal the full potential of the material, while decades of ageing elevate it into something genuinely rare.

And it is precisely the age that defines this tea.

More than twenty-five years of transformation are unmistakably present in the cup. Its profile bears little resemblance to young or moderately aged ripe pu-erh: the flavour is darker, deeper, and more concentrated, with the unmistakable character of long maturation. Time has not made the tea weaker or more reserved. Ageing has given its intensity greater weight, coherence, and distinction.

What impressed us most is how clearly the tea carries its years while remaining so forceful and alive. It is not simply an old tea, but a tea whose age has become an essential part of its identity — something that can be recognised from the first sip and continues to unfold throughout the session.

The result is remarkably powerful — sharp, dense, and direct, yet layered with the depth that only prolonged ageing can create. Its pronounced Cha Qi adds a clear physical presence, completing the commanding and truly memorable character of the tea.