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Nv Er Cha (女儿茶) — “Daughter Tea” — is one of China’s famed puerh teas. In earlier times the Yi women picked and processed the tea after Guyu (Grain Rain), and the silver they earned was set aside toward their dowry; that is how the tea got its name. The buds show prominently, the cakes are small, round and tight, and the tea’s quality and flavor won it praise from officials and nobles through the ages — it is celebrated in the Dream of the Red Chamber tradition as well.
This 2006 YongMing cake is made from old-tree material from the Banzhang tea region, picked after Guyu, mostly tiny buds and young leaves, and fermented by hand in the traditional way. It is a ripe (shou) puerh — also spelled Shu Puerh — and the cakes come four to a bamboo stack. The tea has been tested for total ash, moisture, water extract, crude fiber, lead (Pb), BHC, DDT and tea polyphenols, and every item meets the national standard for tea.
Tea Profile
At a glance: 2006 · Shou (ripe) puerh · 250g cake · old-tree Banzhang leaf, picked after Guyu · YongMing
- Compression & dry leaf: A small, round, tight cake with prominent buds — mostly tiny buds and young leaves from old trees in the Banzhang region.
- Liquor: Red to dark in the cup, bright and clear.
- Taste: Earthy and woody, with a note reminiscent of cocoa.
- Mouthfeel & body: Thick, smooth and mellow.
- Aftertaste: Soothing and lingering.
- Best for: Drinkers looking to improve their tea experience — a hand-fermented old-tree Banzhang ripe with twenty years behind it.
Brewing Guide
- Water: fully boiling, 100°C (212°F).
- Steps:
- Warm the pot and cups; add around 5g per 100ml.
- Two quick rinses to wake the leaf, then a covered rest of about 10 minutes.
- Steep 10–15 seconds at first, adding about 5 seconds per round.
- Always pour out completely into a fairness cup before drinking.
- Keep steeping — ripe puerh 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.
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; 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.
