My uncle ran a small tea shop and was quietly coming apart behind the counter. Business thinning, people drifting. I started visiting to keep him company. He'd brew pu'er, and we'd sit.

​

I knew nothing about the tea. I learned the slow way. one infusion at a time, because the more we drink, the more i learn about the heritage.

​

One of the cakes he opened was pressed in 2010: the year I finished university, packed my bag and left for Türkiye with no plan. That cake sits in silence for more than fifteen years, while I went everywhere. First steep still bitter, by the 3rd cup a thick sweetness climbs back up. bittersweet, like seeing an old friend after years have passed.

​

what speaks to me is Raw pu'er doesn't perform on day one. It needs decades, and someone patient enough to wait.

​

Dark Matter Tea exists to pass on what those afternoons gave me: raw aged pu’er, brewed properly, and a reason to sit down with someone and stay.