Puer sheng (raw) tea cake 100g

The puer sheng we are going to talk about today is from the Menghai region located in southern China. To better understand the category of puer teas we need to better explain the area where these teas grow since in most cases it is the area itself that gives the distinctive name to each tea. In our case we are in the southern part of the Yunnan region (famous for the production of puer) in an autonomous prefecture called Xishuangbanna. This tea given its pronounced aging acquired in its area of origin gives us a good understanding of what it means to drink a puer from the Menghai since generally from teas from the same areas quite similar characters can be found.

In fact, a mineral component emerges well here along with very characteristic underbrush plant flavors aided by the high humidity present in the areas where this tea is produced. This tea is therefore a good recommendation for beginning to approach the puer world given also its characteristic of revealing in the aftertaste a slight sweetness that is often a common feature of a great many teas produced in these areas.

Place of origin

Menghai – 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. The particularity in this case is not to heat the leaves as much as it is done for a green tea in order to preserve some enzymes that can change the flavors over time. Once the leaves are cooked, they are left to rest for one night before finishing the drying process in the sun. Once here, maocha is obtained which will then be pressed in order to promote better transport and aging conditions. To press the leaves they are invested by a strong jet of steam which is able to soften them externally without changing their internal humidity and, once this state is reached, it will be enough to put them in a bag and close it very tightly around them to give them the desired shape. In order for this structure to remain fixed over time, the bag is left for hours under a stone or a mechanical press while the leaves lose that steam with which they had been in contact in the previous phase.

How to prepare

We strongly recommend infusing puer sheng tea in the traditional Chinese method (Gong Fu Cha) with a gaiwan with a capacity of about 150 ml. By following this preparation, multiple infusions can be made with 5 grams of leaves that are useful to best capture all the flavor nuances of the tea.

Heat the water to a temperature of 90°C: conduct a short rinse of the leaves and then an initial 15-second infusion. Keeping the water at the same temperature, you can then continue to exploit the same leaves by adding more water and increasing the infusion time by 5 seconds each time (15 – 20 – 25…).

This tea has a longevity of about 8 infusions.

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

For a better tasting experience, we suggest that you strain the tea as soon as the brewing time is over. The infusion timings we suggest can be slightly modified to your liking to achieve a more or less intense taste.

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

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