Video: Unwrapping
Origin: Yi Wu tea region
Type: 400g Puerh Raw Tea (Sheng Cha)
Tree Age: Made from leaves of ancient trees, aged between 500 to 1000 years.
Characteristics:
Mouthfeel: Known for its strong Cha Qi, providing a profound body sensation.
Tea Profile
At a glance: 1999 · Sheng (raw) puerh · 400g cake · LongYuanHao
Appearance: Features strong, tight tea threads with a dark hue, developed over 25 years of natural aging.
Liquor: The tea liquor is clear with a bright appearance.
Aroma & Flavor: Offers a unique taste with notes of camphor and hints of plum-like flavors.
The tea also boasts excellent hui gan, with a lingering sweetness and significant saliva production, enhancing the aftertaste experience.
Best for: Handmade cake, pressed using a traditional stone mill, resulting in a relatively loose structure ideal for further aging and evolution. Ideal for tea enthusiasts looking to enhance their tea drinking experience with a well-aged Puerh that showcases the depth and complexity that only old tree wild tea can provide.
Brewing Guide
Water: 100°C (212°F), fully boiling.
- Preheat the vessel; add around 5g per 100ml.
- One rinse to open the leaves, then a covered rest of about 10 minutes.
- Steep 10–15 seconds at first, adding ~5 seconds per round.
- Always pour out completely into a fairness cup before drinking.
- Keep steeping — sheng rewards patience with many rounds.
These are guidelines to start from, not rules to obey. Experiment with your pour, your pace, and the season; the same leaf tastes different on a rainy day. The goal is the skill to brew it well whenever, wherever.
Storage
Give it air, coolness and dryness; keep it out of the sun and clear of potent odors (spices, smoke). For multi-year aging, paper or unglazed clay lets the tea breathe in a way sealed plastic never will.
Naturally stored in Guangzhou, ensuring the tea's quality and flavor maturation over time.
A Note on Appearance
Not every cake shows these, but they can occur, especially in teas with more years of storage.
- Bamboo powder (zhu fen): a natural sign of traditional bamboo-husk packing. In Guangdong's warm, humid climate, tiny bamboo insects can make their home in the husk, nibbling the husk and cotton paper wrapper while leaving the tea itself untouched. What they leave behind is a fine powder, seen only on certain teas and more often on aged ones. It is harmless to hygiene; a few strokes with a clean toothbrush or soft brush before brewing is all it takes.
- Tea oil spots: yellowish spots may appear and can come from natural tea oils. They are not a flaw.
- Torn wrapper: small tears or holes in the cotton paper may happen during storage and handling. The tea inside is unaffected.
