Puer Sheng tea (raw) mini portions 40g

Puer sheng tea (raw) mini portions is a very practical product as it is sold in convenient single doses in a square shape or in a small bowl (called Tuo in China). The mini bricks are made with leaves from the mountainous area of Wuliang, located near the city of Dali in the west-hundred part of Yunnan. The puer pressed in small squares allow a better inspection of the dried leaves and dilute the flavours in the case of multiple infusions while the mini Tuo release their flavour more immediately and intensely.

Speaking of flavours, the mini portions of puer sheng have a rich vegetal part that is capable of great development during tasting. Initially, there is a grassy sensation which gradually evolves into a slight bitterness and a legume-like flavour. In addition to the broad spectrum of vegetal nuances, this tea shows, especially in the aftertaste, an intense sweetness with a fruity character accompanied by a warming sensation in the mouth.

Place of origin

Wuliang – 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. At this point, the leaves are passed through a strong jet of steam for a few seconds to make them soft on the outside and then pressed into a small bowl or square shape. To ensure that this structure remains fixed over time, the product is left for hours under a stone or mechanical press while the leaves lose any residual moisture taken up by the steam in the previous phase.

How to prepare

We highly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to best enjoy these leaves. Following this preparation you can put a mini Tuo or square in a gaiwan of about 100 ml to get more infusions with different tastes. After a short preliminary rinse at 100°C to start separating the leaves from their compressed form, an initial infusion of 10 seconds can be made, after which, keeping the water at the same temperature, the time can be increased each time by 5 seconds compared to the previous infusion (10 – 15 – 20…).

These leaves could be steep about 9 times.

For a classic preparation according to the Western style, we recommend a mini Tuo in a 200 ml cup with water at 100°C for a brewing time of two minutes. It would still be preferable to do a prior rinse of about 15 seconds to maximise the flavours of the innermost leaves.

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.