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 variations between day and night, which have a positive impact on the development of flavours in the raw material.
The flavour 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 dewy vegetation in the early hours of the morning.
In addition to this aspect, the infusion has a fairly persistent sugary sweetness accompanied by an elegant floral scent. The tea has no bitterness but a slight astringent effect that is reminiscent, even in taste, of the skin of some exotic fruits. This product also has good time-ripening potential.
Discover the high quality selection of Puer Tea Soul.
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
We highly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to best enjoy these leaves. Following this preparation, 5.5 grams of leaves (about 4 teaspoons) can be used in a gaiwan of about 100 ml to obtain several infusions with different tastes.
After a brief rinse of the leaves in a 100°C water you can go with a first infusion of 10 seconds and, after that, at the same water temperature, you can do multiple infusion adding 5 seconds every steeping time (10 – 15 – 20…)
This tea has a longevity of about 10 infusions.
To prepare the tea in the western style we suggest 3 grams of leaves (about 2 teaspoons) in a 150 ml cup with 100°C water for a steeping time of one minute and a half.
The tea can be filtered for easier tasting and also the above brewing times are purely indicative so can be adjusted according to personal taste.
Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.