Aging Southern Wild

This tea is indigenous to Taiwan and traces its genealogy to the iced ages. If you run deep in Taiwanese tea, you would know it as TTES #24, a recently minted tea cultivar in 2019 by the Tea and Beverage Research Station – called Shan Yun (山蘊), roughly translates to “mountain’s nurture”.

Mr. Liao is a partner grower for the Research Station, so he has been part of this cultivar's incubation process. We've actually been carrying this tea under the name Southern Wild since 2020.

On our visit this year, Mr. Liao shared a 2019 batch with us, one that’s been aging in his earthenware jar for 6 years. It’s not available to sell until it reaches 10 years old, but he was kind enough to share a preview - longtime customer special.

We think it’s great fun to taste an aged tea alongside its current year sibling so you can taste what aging does to a tea. He said he roasted it gently only once in the last 6 years, to get rid of excess moisture and deepen the aroma. Sometimes aged tea tastes like an old library compared to the young, this one is no exception. Think roasted mushroom broth for the '19 batch compared to the bright nutty mung-bean aroma for the '25. 

Learn more about our sourcing trip this year or check out the full 2025 Bounty Collection.

Shipping starts 7/2.

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Contents

3 x teapot portion or 5 x gaiwan portions of each tea, at least 3 infusions per portion.

• 15g x Southern Wild '19
• 15g x Southern Wild '25