Dark Way Forbidden Essence is a fermented tea produced by Master Lan of Guizhou using the same leaf material as Bright Way Forbidden Essence green tea. It is processed in the style of Liu'An Heicha, an ancient basket-aged tea from Anhui. The leaves are picked and then cooked in the intial Sha Qing "fixing" process, then "dry piled" for 6-7 hours while still moist. The leaves are then dried and stored until autumn, when they are laid out overnight and exposed to the dew, which rehydrates the leaves and allows them to gently ferment. They are they then stuffed into a bamboo basket lined with bamboo leaves and allowed to age for a minimum of three years. The resulting tea is dark, rich, and earthy, with a similar level of intensity to shu pu'er with a sweeter profile with bamboo and betel nut notes.
These leaves were initially picked in 2015 before undergoing their final fermentation and basket-aging in 2021. A mature, complex Heicha that combines the unique Liu'An process with the terroir of tribute-quality Guizhou tea leaves.