Appearance & Taste
The leaves are small and slender with a slight twist and covered with golden fuzz. The taste is mellow and smooth, earthy and with a hint of lotus flavor. Because it’s aged tea for four years, it also has a special, rich Chen fragrance. The tea soup is pure and clear and its color is similar to wine-red and amber.
2 TEASPOONS
100°C
3-4 MINS
ENJOY!
4 TEASPOONS
100°C
3-4 MINS
ENJOY!
8 TEASPOONS
100°C
3-4 MINS
ENJOY!
Brewing Guide
For simple glass vessel/teapot brewing:
You can brew fewer tea leaves with more hot water for longer brewing time. Use 2 teaspoons of the tea for 125ml teacup, 4 teaspoons for 250ml glass or 8 teaspoons for 500ml teapot. Using 100°C hot water to infuse tea leaves for around 3-4 minutes. Re-steep for around 6-7 times. Adjust it according to personal taste.
For Gongfu Style: (Recommend using (Yixing) Clay Teapot and Gaiwan)
-Detailed processes:
Warm the Gaiwan/tiny teapot with hot water; discard the water afterward
- Add 1g Pu’er tea for every 50ml of water (recommend 7g-10g tea leaves, adjust by personal taste)
- Pour hot water (100 °C) into the clay teapot / Gaiwan, tilt it, slowly rotating it two times and quickly discard the water (this step is for waking up tea leaves and stimulating the special aroma of the Pu’er tea)
- Refill clay teapot/Gaiwan with hot water
- Infuse tea for around 10s – 20s for the first brew, extending an extra 20s infusion time for the following brew.
- Pour the steeped tea into serving cup and divided into small teacups and serve
- Repeat 8-15 times depends on personal taste.
Origin
It is produced in Menghai county, the famous home of Pu-erh tea and one of the earliest sites of tea production in China. The area is planted with ancient tea trees – the oldest wild tea tree here is about 1,700 years old. The leaves picked from these old trees are referred to as ‘wild arbour’.
The climate has both tropical and subtropical characteristics: The temperature differences from the southwest monsoon are small across the year, but quite large from day to day. Depending on altitude, the area can be divided into northern tropical and subtropical climate zones. It’s averaging about 18.7℃ in temperature, 2,088 hours sunshine time, 1,341 mm rainfall volumes and 32 days frost time in a year. Menghai is often very foggy as well – around 107 to 160 foggy days in a year. The soil layer is deep, fertile, slightly acidic (pH value between 4 and 6) and loose (good for drainage). The soil types there include red, yellow and lateritic, which have advantageous conditions for cultivating pu-erh tea trees.
Anna –
This is a strong tea with distinctive notes of wood and smoke.
Amelie –
It reminds me of freshly chopped wood. Do you know the smell of getting the open fire ready in winter? Strong earthy taste, so maybe not one for novices, but if you like this style, it won’t disappoint.
Ryan W –
I found this tea to be fairly strong on the ‘funk’, although the earthy and woody flavors were pleasant. Perhaps not my personal favorite, but a distinctive and interesting tea all the same.
Natasha –
I have been drinking this tea for a few weeks now after meal times and have grown to really like its slightly woody aftertaste.
Declan C. –
Low in caffeine, this tea is gentle, earthy and calming (the fuzzy skin is a bonus!)
Emily T. –
What a unique tea! Instantly relaxing. Will definitely buy again.