The leaves of 2010 Ba Da Shan puer sheng (raw) tea come from the Ba Da area located in the Yunnan region of southern China. In order to better understand this product, it is necessary to investigate the area of origin of its leaves as, in most cases, it is the place of origin itself that gives the tea its name and main organoleptic qualities. This puer, specifically, is composed mainly of the crop made in the mountainous Ba Da area in eastern Yunnan. The leaves in question were then carefully selected and pressed in the spring of 2010 by the Yunnan Yipintang Tea factory located in Menghai County. The indication on the factory where the leaves arrive is useful to emphasize that behind this puer is a certain style or type of research designed by a special group of tea masters to enhance the territorial characteristics of the product.
This puer is mainly characterized by woody and mineral flavors. From the scent of the leaves, one can also already smell a slightly smoky presence that, in the infusion, together with the woody aromatic part, results in an incense-like flavor. As the tasting proceeds, a vegetal flavor of slightly fresh herbs such as nettle and a slightly pungent mineral sensation will emerge at the back of the tongue. In the aftertaste, finally, there will also be a certain sweetness combined with a bitter characteristic giving in the compresso the sensation of tasting a rhubarb.
Place of origin
Ba Da – 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 they are passed through for a few seconds by a strong jet of steam so that they are made soft on the outside, and then they are gathered into a sock or sack that will give the product its shape, usually discoidal. To ensure that this structure remains fixed over time the sack is left for hours under a stone or mechanical press while the leaves lose that residual moisture taken up by the steam in the previous step.
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 it is possible to use 5.5 grams of leaves (about 3 teaspoons) in a gaiwan of about 150 ml (3 fl oz) in order to obtain more 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 12 infusions.
For a classic preparation according to the Western style, we recommend 3 grams of leaves (about 2 teaspoons) in a 150-mL cup with water at 100°C for an infusion time of one and a half 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.