A distinguished second-generation tea artisan, Master Li’s experience producing shou puer dates back to 1975, the pivotal moment when this style of tea was transitioning from trial batches to full-scale production.Her career began at the renowned Menghai Tea Factory, initially in a production-focused role. As she gained an intimate understanding of each stage of the fermentation process, her expertise became crucial for evaluation and quality inspection.

In the half century that followed, she has developed her own unique techniques, while honouring traditional methods. Now in her 80s, she still personally tends to each production, gathering and blending samples from various sections of the pile to evaluate the progress. We were fortunate enough to join her for one such evaluation session. Although the tea was pulled fresh from an active pile, it was surprisingly clean and sweet, with none of the strange funk associated with lower-quality shou production – a true testament to her ability.

Mastery can come in various forms and guises, especially in the world of tea. Our firsthand experience watching Master Li work and sitting to drink with her left no doubt that we were in the presence of a master of the highest order.

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