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Mini Tuocha Ripe Pu-erh Tea, 2015

$34.00

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, THIS TEA IS SOLD OUT

A young monk asked the wise tea master Lao Cha: 


Shifu, 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, located in Cangyuan, 1800 meters above sea level. The weather conditions at this farm are mild and humid. Mountain peaks and shrouding clouds surround the garden all year round. 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 pick the fresh leaves of this tea in spring, using 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 birth to various microflora that start to decompose and transform the tea leaves' inner content. At the same time, workers occasionally mix and turn the leaves. This way, they avoid the excessive temperature rise inside the pile - otherwise, the fermentation will occur too quickly. That will void the leaves of their nutrients, at the same time giving them a burnt taste and lifeless aroma. When the fermentation is complete, workers press the leaves in the form of a bird's nest and put them for further storage and 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 among the famous pu-erh tea-producing regions in Yunnan. It is situated near the border with Burma, nestling a part of 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.

 

Place of Origin: Cangyuan County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, China
Harvest Date:
May 2015
Picking Standard:
One bud with two leaves
Aroma:
Unique "Cangyuan" fragrance
Taste: Mellow and smooth, with a touch of sweetness 
Varietal:
Da Ye Zhong (大叶种)

 

Brewing guidelines: 


      212℉ / 100℃ 

 1pc    3-4min 

 1pc    Rinse. Then 10sec + 5sec for each subsequent infusion

Customer Reviews

Based on 15 reviews
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N
Ned Langof
Perfect

Always a good idea to have a pack of mini tea cakes on hand. Who knows when I will need to drink some good pu-erh or maybe give some out to my buddies. I used to buy these on my trips to China for very low, or just get them as gifts but the taste was bad and smell even worse. Glad I found these. The taste is real sweet!

M
Milo N.
Soothing

I have now completely replaced my morning coffee with these mini touchas and the best part is that one that I brew in the morning will last me all day on further steeps!
Coffee was getting to intense for my morning stomach and I don't know what it is but this tea is perfect. It has very warming and soothing qualities and it is very easy to drink. The tea has a "oily" feeling to it as if it is coating my stomach and warming it up, preparing it for the day. The taste is also very smooth. Highly recommend trying it!

W
Wesley
Delicious but short-lived

I agree the aroma of this tea is a bit misleading as the brewed tea tastes much better than it smells.
The initial smell is very fermented with roasted qualities.
Then the first few brews I did (using a 200ml teapot) are very sweet. I could taste in it honey, chocolate, butter cookies. Loved it!
After 3 brews however these wonderful tastes went away completely and the brew became more bitter and there was a stronger taste of wet forest. I heard this could be a favorable taste for some but I didn't get it.
Overall I give 4 stars for the initial good brews but it's not a long-laster.

A
Alfred
Great tea!

This is one of my first experiences with pu-erh and I did not expect to like it as much as I did!
The aroma was intimidating so I took my time before actually trying it.
I brewed this tea up in a relatively big pot and probably over-steeped it too.
I noticed once it's brewed the strong fermented aroma goes away and the tea actually becomes very very sweet. Reminded me of drinking a nicely aged liquor.
I'm looking forward to trying more of this tea category.

T
Tumma V.
Still not sure about it.

This tea was recommended to me by a lot of people who swear by it but I just couldn't get over the taste. It's a little straightforward for me. Sweet but at the same time not a clean taste that I like. I did however like the energy I got from this brew and I stuck with it all the way through (gong fu style) finding it more enjoyable by steep 4.