Well, this is a special pu-erh tea from Wuliang Mountain which is one of the highest mountains in Yunnan’s Simao prefecture. Since this tea is from 2011, it has reached an excellent maturity (around 9 years by the time I’m drinking it).
This tea was made from ancient tea trees of 400+ years old and hand-picked by the ethnic minority Yi Tribe. Possibly one of the oldest trees that I have ever tested. It also won the Gold Medal at the 2011 Yunnan Government Pu-erh Competition in both categories of Best Fermented and Raw Pu-erh teas. It is an exceptional tea, sourced by Wild Tea Qi, and for me, it was a very smooth drinking experience without losing the essence of pu-erh, which is earthy and woody notes. The tasting note for this tea in the packaging mentions mushroom and unsweetened chocolate aroma. Wild Tea Qi only trades teas that are sourced from biodiverse habitats like this very tea. It is one of the few companies that you can drink their teas with a peace of mind.
It would be interesting to taste the raw pu-erh that was made from the same material. I can only imagine the excellent notes a mature gushu sheng pu-erh can carry. Is it too obvious that I tend to like sheng pu-erh better? Actually, in some other pu-erh producing areas in Yunnan, producers do not make shu pu-erh thinking that their material is way too good for it. Shu pu-erh making also brings a lot of risks, a small mistake during the pile fermentation may spoil the whole batch.
Tea Profile:
Type: Dark (Pu-erh)
Origin: Wuliang, Yunnan, China
Harvest time: Spring 2011
Leaf colour: Tones of brown and red
Liquor colour: Dark merlot
Tea aroma: Woody and earthy
Tea taste: Medium bodied with fine woodiness and earthiness. No astringency.
Steeping/brewing: Place 6 g of this tea in a teapot and add about 100 ml water at around 100°C. Rinse after 5 sec. Steep for 10 seconds for the second time and increase the consecutive steeping time by 5 seconds each time. You can steep this tea three or four times.
Shelf life: Can be aged.