From a small workshop at the edge of Menghai, where Michael Zhan found these bamboo picks
During a sourcing trip through Xishuangbanna in spring 2024, I stopped at a family-run bamboo workshop on the outskirts of Menghai. The family has been making tea tools for three generations, using the same groves of wild bamboo their grandfather planted. They don’t advertise — I only heard about them through a pu-erh farmer who swore by their picks. When I arrived, the workshop was full of long strips of bamboo drying on racks, and the air smelled faintly sweet, like fresh hay. The grandfather still shapes the tips by hand with a small knife, judging the taper by feel. I spent an afternoon testing different thicknesses and balances with cakes we had in the van — dense sheng from Bulang, softer shou from Yiwu. The three sizes emerged from that session: a short one for gentle prying, a medium for everyday cakes, and a long one that reaches deep into a tightly compressed 357 g disc. Each set is made in small batches, with the natural variations of bamboo grain making every piece slightly different. Michael Zhan selected this lot after visiting twice to be sure the drying and finishing met our standards. No metal, no lacquer — just bamboo, patience, and a little Menghai breeze.