Puer Shu (ripe) Growing Aroma 2019 Tea Cake 357g

Puer Shu (ripe) Growing Aroma Tea 2019 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 shu come from are located near the town of Mengzhe in Menghai County. This specific area close to the south border of Yunnan, in Xishuangbanna Prefecture, gives birth to a lot of high quality puer thanks to the high quality material in the territory and the presence of several experienced tea artisans.

The brew of Puer Shu (ripe) Growing Aroma Tea 2019 is able, through its flavours, to demonstrate the extreme care and knowledge of fermentation techniques by tea masters in the Menghai area.

Right from the start, the taste of the tea is very clean and free of any residual moisture from the processing. On the palate, the fermented aspect of this puer presents itself with balsamic and woody flavours that also leave a distinct mineral trace in the aftertaste.

When tasting, in addition to the characteristic flavours of this category of tea, one can detect a sweet taste similar to that in some herbal liqueurs and a fragrant hint reminiscent of freshly baked bread crumbs.

Finally, the body of the infusion is very balanced on the palate, giving both a good sensation of smoothness and a slight balsamic dryness.

To discover a style of fermentation with a more pronounced presence in the brew, again from the Menghai area, we suggest you try Puer Shu (ripe) Menghai Chen Xiang Tea 2019.

Place of origin

Mengzhe, Menghai county – Yunnan, China

Production

After harvesting, the leaves of Puer Shu (ripe) Growing Aroma Tea 2019 are left to wither in the sun for a certain amount of time depending on the grower before going through the ‘green killing’ stage which is broadly similar to that used to produce green tea.

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.

Once cooked, the leaves are taken in large quantities and stacked to form large piles. The vegetable mass thus arranged is then moistened and covered with cloths in order to retain heat and to start the fermentation process. Here the producer will have to wisely move the leaves and slightly wet them as he/she goes along in order to make the fermentation progress in a constant way and to distribute it as evenly as possible.

Once this process is completed, which can last from 20 to 70 days, the leaves are spread and left in contact with air so that the microorganisms responsible for the fermentation dry up and die leaving the finished product. Once here, one can (eventually) proceed to press the puer in order to give it the best conditions to be 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.

Infusion method of Puer Shu (ripe) Growing Aroma Tea 2019

We strongly recommend infusing the Puer Shu (ripe) Growing Aroma Tea 2019 in the traditional Chinese method (Gong Fu Cha) with a Gaiwan of approximately 100 ml capacity. Following this preparation, with 5.5 grams of leaves, you can make multiple infusions that will help you feel all the flavours of the tea.

After quickly rinsing the leaves with water at a temperature of 100°C, you can proceed with an initial infusion of 10 seconds. Then, keeping the water at the same temperature, you can continue to use the product by adding more water and increasing the previous infusion time by about 10 seconds (10 – 20 – 30…).

For a more traditional Western-style preparation, we recommend 3 grams of leaves (about 2 teaspoons). in a 150 ml cup with water at 100°C for a brewing time of one and a half minutes.

For a better tasting experience, we recommend filtering the infusion as soon as the set steeping time has elapsed. The infusion times we suggest, however, can also be slightly modified to your liking to obtain a more or less intense flavour.

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

Benefits of Puer Shu Tea (ripe)

Puer Shu (ripe) Teas show significant digestive benefits due to the wealth of microorganisms formed on the leaves during the fermentation process. A daily intake of this tea promotes, in particular, greater digestive regularity and an enrichment of the intestinal flora.

Puer Shu not only improves digestion, but also provides the body with a good amount of minerals and antioxidants to help maintain good oxygenation of the blood and therefore better circulation.

Unlike Puer Sheng, this fermented variant has lower levels of caffeine, making it more tolerable even for people sensitive to the famous excitatory molecule. Rather, the stimulation of the nervous system by the Puer Shu infusion tends to promote a pleasant feeling of muscle relaxation.