2025 Ma Lu Dong (Farmer Series) Puerh

 FatBat Private Pressing Raw Puerh

马鹿洞

FatBat’s new Farmer Series allows us to share teas we come across in our travels that we find interesting and representative of a region, direct from the farmers’ hands themselves.

Ma Lu Dong (Red Deer Cave) is an obscure grove nestled in the highest slopes of the greater Meng Song region. We came across this little grove during our previous travels in the vicinity of Hua Zhu Liang Zi and Naka, seeking undiscovered gems in this high-altitude region (over 2400m). The terroir here is relatively undisturbed compared to many of the more popular Meng Song villages, with trees growing in rich soil without agrochemical use, shrouded often in mists.

This year, with the help of Brother Sha (our Menghai processing guru) and his extended family, we secured a big trees "qiao mu" picking from these groves, which we found to be superb quality and a very interesting representation of the Meng Song terroir. Drinking this bright, bracing tea takes us right back into the fresh air and dreamy vistas of the tea mountains every time, which is exactly what we sought to replicate with our Farmer Series.

The warmed leaf is sharp, mineralic, bracing. A melange of alpine wildflowers and herbs. Viscosity is typical of this region, medium-light, but the soup is rich with layered flavor. The Meng Song tang is present, veiled sensuously beneath thick layers of spiced umami broth, beeswax and crushed lily petals. Later on comes a thin layer of luxurious bitterness of grains that dissipates rapidly, like a rich dark beer. Shockingly powerful aroma in the empty cup. The purity of the ecology here is evident in the quality of the tea -- despite not being gushu, the tea is smooth and silken without excessive astringency even when pushed.

This is a tea that speaks directly and without pretension, but never too loudly or brashly. Superb quality material that will age beautifully in tong format, if so desired.

A NOTE ON OUR FARMER SERIES

While we typically obsess over controlling the processing of our own teas, or the purity of gushu pickings, we occasionally come across some impressive examples of farmer-processed maocha. These are teas we will offer in our newly launched Farmer Series since 2024. The material may be burly, or the processing slightly rustic, but these are the best examples of the tea we drink in the mountains, in the homes of the farmers we meet. It is the closest we can take you to the villages in the ancient tea mountains themselves.

TECHNICALS