A tuocha forged for the caravan, chosen by Amgalan Chin
On a crisp March morning in 2023, I walked through the old Xiaguan factory in Dali — a place where tea has been pressed for the long roads to Tibet and beyond since 1941. This tuocha is pressed from a blend of Lincang and Baoshan maocha, with a small share of Bulang for backbone. The iron compression is deliberate: it slows the aging, preserving the tea’s vigour while allowing it to breathe and deepen over years. I’ve always been drawn to the cross-continental stories embedded in these bowls — Mongolian herdsmen, Siberian traders, the Tea Horse Road caravans — all carried tuocha. This 2023 release is a daily drinker now, with a bright, smoky character that will soften into dried fruit and aged wood with time. I recommend stashing a few in your cellar; open one in five years and you’ll find a different tea entirely.