Cha Gao

Ancient Tradition, Modern Ritual

Every lab has a favourite experiment. Ours happens to be 1,400 years old. In Tang Dynasty China, merchants and monks spent months on the road, and their tea went with them. It was ritual, comfort and currency, but fresh leaves bruised and spoiled long before the journey was over. So they tried something new. They simmered the leaves over a wood fire for days, letting the brew slowly thicken until only a dark, fragrant resin was left. It was no bigger than a fingernail and made a full cup of tea anywhere there was water.

By the Qing Dynasty, Cha Gao had reached the imperial court, where pieces were pressed with longevity and blessing motifs, wrapped in yellow satin and treated like treasure. When the dynasty fell in 1911, the craft almost went with it. For nearly a century it lived only in old records and museum cases, until tea makers in Yunnan brought it back.

That's where we come in. Cha Gao is the first product out of our Lab, we've taken a tea known and loved for centuries and put a modern twist on it.