Some teas you drink. This one, you sit down with.
On a November afternoon I set up at my tea station for my first real session in Austin with a tea I'd been chasing for over a year: a sticky rice pu-erh, in a little pressed mini tuo from Zhi Tea here in Austin.
The tuo comes wrapped in pink paper, and the wrapper is the tea's passport: Lao Cang Sticky Rice Pu-erh, a ripe pu-erh from Yunnan. The "sticky rice" isn't rice at all — it's nuo mi xiang, a Yunnan herb blended into the tea that makes it smell like fresh-cooked sticky rice.
For the brewing I used my lotus set — speckled clay, handmade, from a maker on eBay whose signature is artisinal clay handmade pieces. The strainer is a form I'd never used before when steeping tuo. A snail on the cup, a little lotus on its own stand, and the set operates like a pourover rather than a steep in a gaiwan. The water was set for 100 degrees celsius(212 degrees fahrenheit) , which is what ripe pu-erh asks for.
One tuo is a session, not a cup. The same leaves carried me through about several small cups, until the tea finally gave up its flavor and we were done. Small cups, steep after steep — it adds up to a good amount of tea, and a good amount of afternoon.
Two honest notes from the session. The lotus cups are beautiful and they run hot — freshly filled, you have to use extra caution when using them. And the cup itself: a nice essence of that herb, dark and comforting, almost like dessert. I drink my tea warmer rather than scalding, and this one rewards the patience.
Why this tea
Pu-erh comes with a lot of lore. In Chinese tea culture it's often the cup reached for after a rich meal. I fell in love with it when visiting Vital T Leaf in Chinatown. We sat down for a tea tasting and were able to try so many teas at one time, they were wonderful and I learned so much!
What I can tell you firsthand is why I keep coming back: the ritual slows me down, the cup is intoxicating and comforting, and one little tuo can carry a whole afternoon.
That tasting was in Seattle's Chinatown in 2025, and I've been looking for a local source as good ever since. The Zhi Tea tuo is very close. Pu-erh is the tea I reach for when I'm trying to relax, recenter, and regroup — it's more than steeping a cup. It's the tradition, and the action of filling and refilling.
Every session needs a tea pet. Mine has teeth ( pro tip: don’t reach for that cup!), wears headphones, and sits at the podcast mic. He takes the tea research seriously.
Next up for this tea: a proper gaiwan brewing. I have the little gaiwan I brought home from Vital T Leaf that day, and it’s what I used before getting these beauties to steep my tuo. No matter the vessel, you will love this tea if you like earthy, a hint of sweetness within a moment of peace.
The tea: Lao Cang Sticky Rice Pu-erh Mini Tuo (ripe), from Zhi Tea, Austin. Session: November 2, 2026, at home.
