Tong Mu White

Luxurious and drunk. This white tea cake from the gardens of Tongmu, up at 1000 meters, is a show stopper. There is a boldness to it right off the back, with something of a sweet Iiqueur vibe, creamy, nutty, fruity, and with that bubbly effervescence usually found in bug-bitten teas. The energy is really interesting. It evokes the feeling of night—like enjoying the underground club and getting dreamy as you're clearly out past your bedtime. 

Label 27

Masquerade 

At the Venetian Carnival, a mask-wearer extends their hand to a raven and asks, “May I have this dance?” This hidden figure’s ability to approach the raven so closely speaks of a deep trust. It is possible that the perceptive raven can see through the mask. Or, perhaps it is the mask itself that engenders the connection, revealing more than it obscures. It is mascara, mas que la cara—more than the face. 

The bright light that illuminates the two figures leaves no shadows, flattening the world into simple appearance. The loss of identity in the masquerade is an equalizing measure. The Republic of Venice was notorious for its rigid class distinctions, but its citizens were allowed to wear masks in public between specified festival days, rendering certain elements of hierarchy unenforced for nearly half of the year. A curving green branch of life enters the sterile space from below, refreshing the air as it breaches the boundary.

Wearing a mask, you get to be yourself in concealment even as you get to be nobody. And who is this not true for? The masked one leans back and pushes forward—an uncanny sense of balance and trust in a carnival that doesn’t provide handholds.