"Tiny Mandarine" Ripe Chen Pi Pu-erh, 2021

A young disciple asked wise Lao Cha: – Sifu, the pu-erh you so kindly offer us fills our hearts with energy, warmth, and strength. Yet, there are times when I long for something more. A sense of jubilation, a feeling of celebration. How can I attain such a state? The venerable tea sage, Lao Cha, peered into the young man's eyes. – My dear disciple, a celebration is not just a feeling. It is a flavor. It is the fragrance of tangerines, the zest of life. If you wish to make your pu-erh tea a celebration in a cup, we must unearth the treasures of the tangerine, the very soul of the fruit. Dry the peel and fill it with tea. And so, the pu-erh shall be filled with the gods' nectar and the citrus's jubilant aroma.   In Yunnan's mountainous region, Menghai lies a centuries-old tradition of blending tea leaves with Chen Pi (陈皮) – the dried peel of an orange or tangerine, resulting in a tea that is both delicious and beneficial to the body.Chen Pi (陈皮) is a time-honored ingredient in Traditiona