Made from Gu Shu (old tree) tea leaves from MAN KA village in Laos, near the Laos-Myanmar border.
The tea leaves were picked and processed in the spring of 2018.
As local people were not adept at processing puerh tea, my supplier brought workers from Yunnan to assist. The sun-dried Mao Cha was then taken back to Meng Hai, Yunnan.
Tea Profile
At a glance: 2018 · Sheng (raw) puerh · 100g cake · KingTeaMall
This tea offers a unique flavor that I’ve never encountered before. Though it’s near the southern border of the YI WU tea region in China, its taste is distinctly different from both teas from other Yunnan regions and YI WU teas.
The experience of drinking this tea is akin to the weather I encountered during my sourcing trip: initial bitterness like bright sunshine, followed by a sweet aftertaste resembling a sudden rainfall under a still-shining sun. Once the cloud of flavor passes, it leaves a normal, clear sky of taste.
The tea has a rich and complex taste. The sensation in the mouth varies as the tea liquid passes down the throat.
Best for: improving your tea experience. Take your time with it — a good choice once you are no longer a beginner.
Brewing Guide
Water: fully boiling, 100°C (212°F).
- Warm the pot and cups, then add about 5g of leaf per 100ml.
- Rinse the leaves once with boiling water and let them rest, covered, for about 10 minutes.
- Steep the first rounds for 10–15 seconds, adding about 5 seconds with each round.
- Pour every steep into a fairness pitcher before serving.
- Serve. Sheng puerh resteeps well for many rounds.
Treat these as starting points rather than fixed rules. Try high or low pours, fast or slow, and brew in different seasons to find the method that suits you. Brewing the same tea well in any year, season, weather or place takes practice, and that skill is the real goal.
Storage
Keep the tea ventilated, cool and dry, away from sunlight and strong odors (kitchen spices, smoke). For long-term aging, paper or clay containers breathe better than sealed plastic.
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.
