Barefoot - Shu Pu-erh Wuliang Shentai 2021

€13,00

Taxes included.

Earth • Walnut • Dried dates • Dark wood

Your body remembers things your mind has forgotten.
The feeling of walking barefoot across warm earth. The quiet confidence that comes from standing firmly where you are.

Size 25g 50g 100g cake (400g)

about 10 mugs or 5 gongfu sessions

Grown in the Wuliang Mountains - known in Chinese as the "Boundless Mountains" - this Shu Pu-erh carries the calm rhythm of ancient forests. Patient fermentation transforms fresh leaves into a tea with remarkable softness and depth.

Made for everyday rituals, slow mornings, long workdays, and every moment you want to feel fully present in your own body.

The ritual (Gongfu Cha): bring fresh water to a near-boil (95–97°C). Flake off 5-6 grams of the pressed cake per 100 ml. Before your first true steep, give the leaves a quick, hot rinse to awaken the compressed cake, discarding the initial water. Steep for 10-20 seconds on the first round, gradually extending the time with each subsequent pour. Watch the liquor turn ink-dark, rewarding you with 8-10 generous infusions.

The alternative (stove-top boiling): for a deeply traditional and rustic experience, take 7 grams of the tea and simmer it directly in a glass or ceramic tea brewer (Lu Yu style). This continuous heat coaxes out a much deeper, thicker, almost "savory soup" texture that coats the throat beautifully.

A quick note on temperature: be careful not to let the water boil aggressively for too long, as overheating can strip the tea of its signature silkiness and leave a flat, empty wood flavor behind.

Body: deep, remarkably soft, and completely rounded, comforting texture without a trace of harsh bitterness.

Liquor: semi-dense, saturated, and opaque dark amber-brown. Remains beautifully clear and transparent, not turning muddy or overly heavy.

Finish: long, soothing aftertaste filled with damp forest floor notes, raw leather, and a gentle, lingering sweetness.

Barefoot owes its velvety soul entirely to true post-fermentation using the traditional Shu (熟) pile method.

The process begins with an accelerated, high-moisture microbial fermentation (Wo Dui) lasting between 40 to 60 days. During this living maturation, natural microflora break down the raw, bitter catechins, converting them into complex, soothing molecules known as thearubigins and theabrownins.

This living chemistry generates beneficial postbiotic compounds that naturally support your gut microbiome and calm the nervous system.

The tea is then dried, pressed into cakes, and left to settle and mature since its 2021 harvest, developing a deeply comforting maturity.

This large-leaf organic tea hails from the pristine, high-altitude slopes of the Wuliang Mountains (Wuliang Shan) in Yunnan.

In Daoist and Buddhist traditions, Wuliang translates directly to the "Boundless Mountains," long revered as sacred spaces.
The specific farm, Shentai (神台), translates beautifully as the "platform of the spirit," hinting at a landscape charged with natural power.

While Wuliang is lesser known than other mainstream regions, its dramatic elevation shapes a complex, inherently smooth tea profile. This particular batch was harvested in 2021 and has been patiently aging for over 5 years.

We always recommend sipping all our teas solo to appreciate its pure, unmasked character. But if you wish to pair it with a bite, choose mindfully :)

If you're pairing, try these:
- Rich nuts like walnuts or pecans that complement the tea's earthy backbone.
- Traditional churchkhela/pastila or dense, dried fruits like figs and dates.
- Intense dark chocolate (70–85% cacao).
- Spiced pumpkin bakes or unsweetened, spice-infused biscuits.
- As a digestive anchor right after a heavy meal to settle the stomach.

Coming back to yourself through your feet.
Brings a sensation of warm grounding, collected clarity, and deep physical presence.

Before water. After water.

Barefoot - Shu Pu-erh Wuliang Shentai 2021 – photo 4

When to drink:

An versatile, foundational Shu Pu-erh that adapts seamlessly to any context -whether you are seeking meditative silence, setting up a morning workspace focus, playing music at an evening party, or looking for a gentle transitional step if you cannot decide between a rich red tea and a dark Pu-erh.