Originally when we became interested in one of the lesser talked about Menghai territories on the Banzhang / Hekai side of Nannuo, 帕沙 Pàshā Mountain wasn't such a household name.  Dá É's boyfriend's long time homie Cuō Pá lives in Pasha Zhongzhai "middle village" and has some impressive ancient gardens there, so we decided to try some of his autumn tea processed by Dá É in 2021.  It offered us a baffling and enticing combo of an uber meaty, bold, and brothy soup that was juxtaposed by a hauntingly minty huigan.  An intense and enigmatic experience for those of us who drank that won't soon be forgotten.

In 2022, Pasha was officially found out when Pasha's tea king tea in 犀牛塘 Xīniútáng "Rhinoceros Pond" area in middle village sold for over 50k USD / kilo in an auction.  This exciting press proliferated through the collector networks, putting all eyes on this little diamond in the rough, boosting prices mountain-wide, and sending skilled regional hands to process the next harvests into their best form.

As you can imagine the price of this spring's Pasha dwarfs that of 2021's autumn material, but we decided to bite the bullet and invest in a small cache of Cuō Pá's best gushu.  This year's spring Pasha tones down the hammy meatiness found in 2021's autumn tea, replacing it with a full EQ of vegetal sweetness and cruciferous bite.  Between thick sips, a lingering beastly afterbreath growls in the back of the throat, fragrant with pheromonal musk.  The tea galvanizes the body, provoking sweat and rattling the sensory gates.  Don't you dare think about drinking this tea on an empty stomach, and unless you want to climb up the side of the walls halfway through the session we recommend having grounding snacks on hand.

A phenomenon of a tea to be reckoned with, we cannot wait to see how this animal transforms in its next chapters.

Pasha’s 犀牛塘 Xīniútáng Rhino Pond area was named after an Akha word “乃丫朗” Nǎi yā lǎng, and legend has it that Rhinoceros used to play in the mud in this area.

Cuo Pa in one of his gushu

Trees well over 300 years old are common in Pasha

To add to the hype, people have started saying ancestor Akha people migrated from Pasha to form Lao Banzhang and took with them prized tea tree germplasm, making Pasha the original LBZ

Dá É and her boyfriend with Cuo Pa’s gushu

Pasha Middle Village entrance

Pasha Zhongzhai Middle Village rests right below 1800 meters, while gardens around it reach 1850 meters!

original wrapper artwork by Arulu Gallagher