2017 Ripe Mushroom Tuo Cha, Xiaguan Jin Si Tibetan Flame Label, Da Xue Shan 250g

Our pu erh tea collection wouldn't be complete if there's no mushroom shaped tuocha. Picking the right mushroom tuo to our offerings wasn't easy, as many aren't great in quality. This Xiaguan Jini Si mushroom tuo, however, is made from premium materials! Made from premium single origin Da Xue Mountain tea leaves, partially consisting of golden buds.

History of Mushroom Tuocha & Tibetan Flame Label (Bao Yan)

For many centuries the ‘Tibetan Flame’ (Bao Yan) mushroom tuocha was extremely popular among monks in Yunnan. The tea was also sold in many areas along the Ancient Tea Horse Road where this kind of tea was transported on the backs of horses. The Tibetan Flame tuocha even made it to foreign regions and was therefore also known as a kind of ‘border sales tea’ (bian xiao cha).

However, the shape wasn’t the most convenient to transport along the Ancient Tea Horse Road. During the 70s, many tea factories started producing bricks and the demand took off. The mushroom tuocha lost its appeal and slowly disappeared from the market.

As roads were built and horses were replaced by cars, transportation isn’t an issue anymore in today’s Yunnan, China. Starting from the 90s, the Xiaguan Tea Factory restarted to scale the production of mushroom tuocha’s to celebrate the history and tradition of this wonderful tea.