Long Teng Sheng Shi — the zodiac Dragon returns: the 2024 dragon cake, young and spirited.
Tea Profile
At a glance: 2024 · Sheng (raw) puerh · 357g cake · big-tree leaf · DaYi (Menghai Tea Factory) · 1st batch
- Compression & dry leaf: Tightly pressed, it comes as a 357g cake.
- Liquor: The liquor is golden or yellow, bright.
- Taste: It opens fresh and pure, with a strong bitterness and some astringency, balanced by a natural sweetness. The middle steeps bring out honey over a smoky background, with a sweet and balanced taste. It rewards paying attention across a longer session.
- Mouthfeel & body: Expect a thick, full-bodied, smooth mouthfeel.
- Aftertaste: Look for a quick, clear hui gan, easy salivation and a long finish after each cup.
- Best for: improving your tea experience. Brew it attentively and follow how it changes; a natural step up for a drinker new to puerh who wants to go further.
Tasting Notes
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1st-2nd Infusion:
- Tea Liquor: Bright yellow.
- Aroma: High, smoky aroma with rich honey notes.
- Taste: Thick, sweet, and refreshing, with a quick onset of salivation.
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3rd-5th Infusion:
- Tea Liquor: Honey-yellow and bright.
- Aroma: Rich, with a blend of smoky and honey fragrances.
- Taste: Full-bodied with a strong but quickly dissolving bitterness and astringency. The returning sweetness and salivation are vigorous, like a dragon’s surge, offering a cooling and expansive feel with a majestic energy.
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6th-8th Infusion:
- Tea Liquor: Bright honey-gold.
- Aroma: Enchantingly rich, with a sweet honey fragrance and a delicate, long-lasting dragon brain incense aroma.
- Taste: Richly layered, balanced, and powerful. The returning sweetness and salivation are intense and long-lasting, with a lingering cooling sensation and endless aftertaste.
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9th-11th Infusion:
- Tea Liquor: Bright yellow.
- Aroma: Long-lasting smoky aroma with a pure, sweet fragrance.
- Taste: Aromatic, sweet, and smooth tea soup with continuous salivation and an enduring throat sensation.
Brewing Guide
- Water: fully boiling, 100°C (212°F).
- How to brew:
- Add around 5g of tea for every 100ml.
- Give the leaves one quick rinse — cover with boiling water for about 5 seconds and discard. Then put the lid on and leave the leaves to open up for about 10 minutes.
- Start with 10–15 second steeps, lengthening by about 5 seconds each round.
- Pour the liquor into a sharing pitcher.
- Serve and resteep — sheng puerh goes many rounds.
- Think of this as a starting point rather than a rigid method. Try pouring high or low, fast or slow, and adapt to the season until it suits you. Brewing one tea at its best in any year, season, weather or place is a skill built over time — and that is the real goal.
Storage
Keep it in a ventilated, cool, dry spot, shielded from sunlight and strong odors (cooking spices, cigarette smoke). If you plan to age it long-term, paper or clay containers breathe better than airtight plastic.
A Note on Appearance
Not all cakes develop these — the chances simply rise with longer 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 spotting can occur from natural tea oils. This is not a flaw.
- Torn wrapper: minor tears or holes in the cotton wrapper sometimes happen in storage and transit. The tea itself is unaffected.
