Saint Petersburg — 2026-05-22
MAFIATEA today released the final tally from its annual Yiwu sourcing expedition, conducted between 22 April and 8 May 2026. The haul comprises 120 kilograms of raw máo chá (毛茶) graded into 35 distinct single-origin lots, all from the Yìwǔ (易武) mountain range in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. No blends, no third-party intermediaries, no marketing embellishments.
Every lot was selected by MAFIATEA’s own cupping panel, led by Chief Executive Officer Evgeniy Smoley, who spent the final week on the ground verifying humidity, leaf uniformity, and plucking standard. The expedition covered five villages: Má Hēi (麻黑), Luò Shuǐ Dòng (落水洞), Gāo Shān Zhài (高山寨), Dīng Jiā Zhài (丁家寨), and Guā Fēng Zhài (刮风寨). Within those, 14 tea gardens were accessed via contracts renewed annually with the same families since 2023.
“This is not a buying trip. It’s a harvest,” Smoley stated. “We don’t negotiate. We arrive, we select, we pay, we leave. Everything else is noise.”
Quality control followed the Chinese national standard GB/T 22111-2008 — Product of Geographical Indication for Pu’er Tea — with additional internal thresholds for water content (≤ 8.0 %) and total ash (≤ 6.5 %). All lots passed. A subset of 8 micro-batches, totalling 18 kg, will be set aside for extended natural ageing under monitored conditions in MAFIATEA’s Kunming storage facility. The remaining 102 kg will be pressed into 200-gram cakes (gross weight) at a registered factory in Menghai County, with full traceability tags linked to the puerh.app ledger.
The expedition’s numbers break down as follows:
• Total raw leaf procured after sun-drying and sorting: 120.0 kg. • Number of single-origin lots: 35. • Average lot size: 3.43 kg (median 2.8 kg; range 0.9–12.1 kg). • Micro-batches reserved for long-term ageing: 8. • Villages visited: 5. • Farm-gate price per kilogram of finished máo chá ranged from CNY 1,200 to CNY 4,800 depending on elevation and tree age category. • Cupping sessions conducted on site: 46, covering 112 individual samples.
All material is shēng pǔ’ěr (生普洱) processed by traditional kill-green (pan-firing at 280–310 °C), rolling, and sun-drying. No wò duī (渥堆) ripening was applied — the entire haul is designated for raw pu’er aged naturally. Pressing will commence on 15 June 2026. Wrapper artwork is being finalised in collaboration with the tattoo and lowbrow visual scene; two numbered editions are planned, including a ‘Cult’ collector series signed and wax-sealed.
The full catalogue of lots, with provenance data and cupping notes, will be published on puerh.app and thetea.app on 1 June 2026. Limited quantities — 20 cakes per micro-batch — will be available exclusively through shop.thetea.app from that date. No pre-orders, no allocations.
For questions regarding logistics or custody documentation, contact the media representative listed below. MAFIATEA does not issue press kits in PDF; all materials are accessible via puerh.app/mafiatea.
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Media contact
Evgeniy Smoley