These are 3 fun giftable boxes of Rock Oolong: Rare Breeds, Old Thicket, and THEA BOHEA.

岩茶 Yancha "Cliff Tea" or Rock Oolong is a gourmet style of charcoal roasted oolong that hails from the legendary Wuyi Mountains (formerly referred to as Bohea in early English documents), the area considered to be the birthplace of both Oolong and Red Tea.  Each box contains a variety of packets that hold 7 grams of tea and each packet is used for one session of tea with multiple steepings; using about a kettle's worth of water for each session.

Producing some of the most speculated on, sophisticated, and expensive teas in China, each visit to the Wuyi Mountains is a learning experience unlike any other tea arena in navigating economics and politics.  In most tea mountains, engaging in the classic hunt for the "best tea" and connecting with the family who crafts said tea is the expected and straightforward-enough endeavor.  But in the Wuyi Mountains, what are considered the most prestigious teas can start at eye-watering, prohibitive prices and over the years increasingly don't meet quality standards of production due to their fame and scarcity guaranteeing their sale regardless.

Thus, a deeper search for teas made by more talented tea producers from lesser-known, up-and-coming pocket areas offering greater price-for-value is absolutely necessary.

photo taken in the scenic park in 2019 when we snuck in a back way

Let's jump into these boxes.

Rare Breeds is a box of 6 lesser-known teas derived from specialized cultivars.   These varietals include: 梅占 Mei Zhan, 醉贵妃 Zui Gui Fei, 不老丹 Bulao Dan, 奇兰 Qi Lan, 瓜子金 Guazi Jin, and 石乳 Shi Ru.  For Rock Oolong connoisseurs, the pursuit of finding ideal versions of these atypical varietals is primarily about appreciating their unique aromas through the lens of classic rock oolong production specs.  We recommend a competition-style aroma spoon to really take in the experience of these teas' aromatics.

the talented Mr. Xu is the producer of Bulao Dan, Zui Gui Fei, and Guazi Jin.

Often referred to as the 小品种 xiao pinzhong "small cultivars" these varietals are upstaged by the more commonly planted Rougui and Shui Xian teas, and not considered as historically notable in the canon of rock oolong varietals like the 四大名丛 si da ming cong "Four Great Bushes" (Da Hong Pao, Shui Jin Gui, Bai Ji Guan, and Tie Luo Han).  Alongside these six teas that comprise Rare Breeds, you can find the other types mentioned above in the THEA BOHEA collection.

Old Thicket is a box of 3 different Shui Xian teas from trees of varying ages.  This is my favorite type of rock oolong; the smooth, consistent, reliable texture and timeless flavor of old bush Shui Xian is just fantastic — in my personal top tea experiences.  Well documented, Mr. Wu's family has some of the oldest Shui Xian thickets in the greater Wuyi Mountains.  His ancestors planted their oldest thickets long before the large majority of the 老枞 Lao Cong "old bush" grade Shui Xian in the prestigious 正岩 zhengyan core scenic park (average age 40-60 years old).

Mr. Wu in the thicket of his centenarian+ Shui Xian trees. We felt like we were flashing back to Yunnan!

In this tasting set, we get a chance to experience Shui Xian from 40 year old bushes, 60 year old bushes, and the very rare opportunity to have century-old bush Lao Cong Shui Xian tea.  In each box there are two of each tea (6 packets total).

12 sessions ranging from essentials to eccentrics, THEA BOHEA is the panoptic curation of this sourcing trip; the experiential module designed to give folks a solid edge on grokking the expansive world of Wuyi Rock Oolong through treating the senses to a diverse showing of the good stuff.

喝茶人最终的归宿是岩茶和普洱 "A tea aficionados' final destination will either be Wuyi Rock Oolong or Yunnan Pu'er"

This Chinese saying highlights the parallel between two monuments of the specialty tea world that rival one another in terms of the level of complexity in production, depth of connoisseurship, inherent risks of falling prey to counterfeits due to inexperience, as well as pricing strata behemoths fueled by their own scarcity and market speculation.  The only thing that outweighs the risk is the feeling when you finally get a fine taste of the genuine article.

Of course, I ask why side with just one destination when you could traverse through both of these worlds for maximum enjoyment?  While Yunnan Pu'er has been where I've historically settled down to hang my hat, getting deeper into the Wuyi Mountains folds this year to uncover some choice finds has earned this genre heavy contender status.  Whether you want a solid introduction or are already familiar with rock teas, this set is designed to uplevel your appreciation of this gourmet class of teas.  Please partake while these boxes are still here!

don't be fooled, this graphic is a lil guide I photoshopped onto the photo and isn't printed irl

Each THEA BOHEA box will come with a pair of these heron scissors for the tea packets

No one tears the packets in China - you'll only see them cut them... often in fun shapes!