September 2025
De'ang Sour Tea
We’re excited to introduce a truly unique tea tradition from Mangshi, Yunnan: De’ang Sour Tea (德昂酸茶) — a tea that carries the soul of the De’ang people, one of Yunnan’s oldest indigenous communities who, like the Bulang, have been cultivating tea trees for thousands of years. De’ang Sour Tea undergoes a long anaerobic fermentation, giving it a tangy, cheese-like aroma, a mellow body, and a deep aftertaste. Historically, this tea was not only a daily drink but also a cultural ritual among the De’ang, celebrated for its digestive benefits and lingering flavors. We are honored to collaborate with Yunnan Defeng Tea Co., a respected Yunnan tea producer with over two decades of expertise in Pu-erh and ethnic minority teas. Its founder, Lu Fengmei, is recognized as a province-level inheritor of this invaluable intangible cultural heritage for De’ang sour tea craftsmanship. As a guardian of this tradition, she not only preserves ancient techniques but also pioneers new formats that bring this heritage closer to today’s tea drinkers. For this special curation, we’ve selected four distinctive forms of De’ang Sour Tea, each reflecting a different facet of its craftsmanship and designed for diverse brewing styles — from simmering and gaiwan steeping to casual cold brewing. Together, they invite you to experience this time-honored tea through a variety of flavors, textures, and brewing rituals.
2017 De’ang Sour Tea (Traditionally Pounded) (2017 Spring)
Yunnan Defeng Tea Co.
2020 De’ang Sour Tea (Bar Shape) (2020 Spring)
Yunnan Defeng Tea Co.
2023 De’ang Sour Tea Dragonball (2023 Spring)
Yunnan Defeng Tea Co.
2024 De’ang Sour Tea for Cold Brew (2024 Spring)
Yunnan Defeng Tea Co.