An Cha set

Clean and gentle with an aromatic quality unlike that of a Shu pu’er. An cha, or the better known Liu an, is a name reserved for a compressed, post-fermented tea that has undergone a unique treatment. A further refinement issues where the processed leaves are steamed and scattered outdoors to absorb the night dew, before being packed into bamboo baskets and roasted over a fire. Over some years are the results a complex array, recalling Chinese herbal medicine: Dried roots, wood, red fruits, smoke, toasted grains with an underlying natural sweetness. This set presents two grades of An cha: Maojian and the more refined Gongjian from the same producer in Qimen, a famed county for An cha production; stored over various years to allow one’s extensive (first) encounter of what this tea type has to offer.