2026 MUMS

2026 MUMS is a collaboration with Fellow Drops—a pressed tea cake of Gedeng black tea and Huangshan chrysanthemum, made by Xiaohui Quan in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. The black tea comes from Gedeng Mountain, one of the six ancient tea mountains east of the Lancang river. It's a medium-leaf ecological tea, fully oxidized to a warm, honeyed character—smooth and structured with the kind of depth that only old-mountain Yunnan leaf delivers. The chrysanthemum is a different story entirely: White Taiju baby buds from Huangshan, harvested in early spring at peak aromatic clarity. First-pick. Visually uniform. Selected for fragrance above all else. Together they're pressed into a cake by Xiaohui Quan—known to his team as "brother Quan"—a 35-year veteran of old-world Yunnan tea making who has spent his career making once-luxury teas accessible. The result is a tea that's genuinely delicate without being thin: the black tea holds structure while the chrysanthemum floats above it, clean and sweet and floral, without ever tipping into perfume. Both harvests are spring 2026. Both are exceptional on their own. Pressed together, MUMS is something neither could be alone. A note on tea cakes: MUMS comes as a compressed disc of tea—a format with roots in Yunnan going back over a thousand years, originally designed for transport along the Tea Horse Road. To brew it, you'll need to break off a portion (about 5 grams) using a butter knife, the back of a spoon, or any thin tool you can wedge into the edge of the cake. The leaves are intact and will open fully in hot water. Once broken off, brew it just like any loose leaf tea. VINTAGE — Spring 26' STYLE — Dianhong CULTIVAR — Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong REGION — Gedeng, Xishaungbanna, Yunnan, China LOCALE — Xindi / Quanji Chenxiang ELEVATION — 1200 - 2000 m. PRODUCER — Xiaohu Quan STEEPING PARAMETERS (use freshly boiled spring water) modern, large format [300 ml+ vessel — BOLI, large teapot] 4 grams — 200°F (93°C) — 2 minutes traditional, small format [150 ml- vessel — gaiwan, small teapot] 7 grams — 200°F (93°C) — 10 seconds (rinse recommended) + 15-20 seconds each additional steep