Shou puerh is also known as "ripe" fermented black tea specifically from the Big Leaf cultivar in Yunnan Province, China. This particular cake is from the Gaoping Tea Factory, located in Eshan County, Yi, which is a mountainous region in central Yunnan. Gaoping is part of the Gaoxiang Organic Tea Plantations, which are famous for producing teas of beautiful and strong fragrance.
The tea plantations combine tea cultivation with forest conservation. The tea trees are grown at 2000m altitude, and benefit from the cool temperatures, mist, naturally oxygen-rich forest environment (mountains are 95% covered with forest) and biodiversity. Shou puerh produced in this area are nutrient rich and flavorful, with notes of deep floral, forest loam and nuts. The tea liquor is deep and sweet, both mellow and complex - all that you would expect from trees grown in a high mountain area with organic and biodiverse conditions.
These tea leaves were harvested in Early Spring of 2007. The tea is different in character from the Menghai shou puerh cakes and holds its own in both fragrance and taste. If you are looking to try the Gaoxiang fragrance and a ripe puerh grown in an oxygen-rich, high mountain area with organic cultivation, you must try this cake! This was one of our most popular ripe puerh when we sold it in our retail space in NYC.
Shou puerh is a probiotic tea and is excellent for digestive health and for warming the body. It steeps very strong and provides multiple pours per serving.
We break the cake into "fragments" for our customers to try. Each fragment can be broken up further into 3g or ~1 tsp servings.
