Puer Sheng (raw) Bai Ying Shan tea 2019 200g

The 2019 Bai Ying Shan Puer Sheng (raw) Tea is a product carefully selected by Tea Soul to offer an even more in-depth tasting experience and knowledge of the complex puer tea variety.

The gardens where the leaves of this sheng come from are located in the western part of Lincang province at an altitude of about two thousand metres on Mount Bai Ying. The considerable altitude exposes the plantation to large temperature fluctuations between day and night, which have a positive impact on flavor development in the raw material.

The flavor profile of puer Bai Ying Shan carries some of the freshness of its area of origin, giving a very volatile sensation on the palate similar to that of dew-covered vegetation in the early morning hours. This product also has good time-ripening potential: the more years pass, the sweeter and more complex the tea will become in flavors and aromas.

Discover the high quality selection of Puer Tea Soul.

Tasting – Sight and smell

Tasting Notes

GONG FU CHA

The first infusion of puer Bai Ying Shan 2019 tea has notes of incense and burnt wood in the opening, followed by hints of sugar and fruit nectar. The infusions gradually reveal a vegetal sweetness reminiscent of baked thistle, then acacia honey and finally ripe pear pulp. With the last infusions, the sensation is that of entering a coniferous forest: notes of resin, incense, fir wood and very intense fruity notes follow one another on the palate, all always supported by the sweetness of honey that accompanies us to the end. The persistence is fruity and balsamic, incredibly fresh. The body is medium and enveloping, without any astringency.

Place of origin

Bai Ying Shan – Yunnan, China

Production

After the harvest the leaves whither under the sunlight for a certain period of time depending on the tea masters evaluations before going into the “killing of the green” phase which is similar to the practice adopted for green teas.

In this case, however, the leaves are heated in the iron wok with a lower temperature than the usual standards for a green tea so it is possible to preserve some enzymes capable of changing the the taste of the tea through the time. After being pan-fried the leaves rest during the night time before the last drying phase under the sun in the next day. In this stage the product is called maocha and it is ready to be (eventually) pressed in order to have the best conditions to being transported and aged.

To press the leaves, the producer exposes a certain quantity of the product to a strong steam jet for few seconds in order softened the vegetal mass and then wrap all up in a kind of sock or sac to imprint the final, usually discoid, form.

To maintain the desired shape the sac is put under an heavy stones for several hours or under a mechanical press while the leaves loose the residual moisture caused by the steam in the previous phase.

Preparation of Puer Sheng Bai Ying Shan Tea 2019

We highly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to best enjoy these leaves. Following this preparation, 5 grams of leaves (about 4 teaspoons) can be used in a gaiwan of about 150 ml to make several infusions with different tastes.

After a quick rinse of the leaves in water at 90°C, an initial infusion of 20 seconds can be made, and after that, keeping the water at the same temperature, the time can be increased each time by 5 seconds from the previous infusion (20 – 25 – 30…).

This tea has a longevity of about 10 infusions.

For a classic preparation according to the Western style, we recommend 2.5 grams of leaves (about 2 teaspoons) in a 200-mL cup with water at 90°C for an infusion time of 2 1/2 minutes.

The tea can be filtered for greater ease at the moment of tasting, and also the infusion times indicated above are intended to be purely indicative, so you can also adjust according to your personal taste.

Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.