Mini Tuocha Ripe Pu-erh Tea, 2015

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, THIS TEA IS SOLD OUT

A young monk asked the wise tea master Lao Cha:

–  Sifu, is there a tea that would be convenient to carry while traveling, easy to brew, and hard to spoil? Something that would keep me going when I’m tired, warm me up when I’m cold, and cheer me up when I’m feeling homesick.

– Yes, there is such tea. It is Mini Tuocha Ripe Pu-erh. Its taste is nice and mellow, woody and sweet. It is easy to brew and hard to damage. It will fit into your pocket, and it will be ready to jump into your pot whenever you need it. Have it with you wherever you go, and it will never let you down.

This pu-erh comes from the Tuanjie Dazhai tea garden, situated in Cangyuan at an elevation of 1,800 meters above sea level. The weather conditions at this tea garden are mild and humid. Mountain peaks and shrouding clouds surround the garden throughout the year. They reduce the astringent substance in the tea leaves, making the tea taste sweeter. Meanwhile, frequent rainfalls bring lush color and luster to the tea leaves.

Farmers harvest the fresh leaves of this tea in the spring, adhering to the "one bud and two leaves" standard. They then undergo traditional processing to turn into ripe pu-erh. First, workers stack the sun-dried maocha onto large piles - sometimes weighing up to three tons. They then sprinkle the tea leaves with water. At the same time, they control the levels of moisture and temperature. It gives rise to various microflora that begin to decompose and transform the inner content of the tea leaves. At the same time, workers occasionally mix and turn the leaves. This way, they avoid the excessive temperature rise inside the pile; otherwise, fermentation will occur too quickly. When the fermentation is complete, workers press the leaves into the form of a bird's nest and store them for further aging. It takes about 90 days to finish the processing of this tea. As a result, the brewed tea has a mellow and smooth taste with a hint of sweet fragrance. It comes in a single-serving size that is convenient to use.

The area around Lincang is one of the renowned pu-erh tea-producing regions in Yunnan. It is situated near the border with Burma, nestling Yunnan's virgin tea tree forests. There, the tea trees grow freely, without human interference, in their natural surroundings and in symbiosis with other plants native to the region. Feng Qing county lies in the northern part of Lincang and is a well-known name among pu-erh tea lovers. It is where the oldest tea tree ever found is located. This tea king, a solemn remnant from distant times, is presumably 3,200 years of age. Lincang is among the most representative areas of ancient tea tree heritage.

Cangyuan County preserves a large number of ancient tea tree forests. More than 30,000 mu of wild tea trees grow scattered in the area. Some of the trees' age is estimated to be more than a thousand years. It is one of the regions with the richest biodiversity in Yunnan.