This is a very interesting shou puerh made with purple bud leaf material. The leaves come from trees that are a naturally occurring varietal the produces a darker leaf color. This material was picked in 2012. The wet pile fermentation (wodui) was done a year later and then allowed to rest another year before it was finally pressed in late 2014. It was stored in Puer City until recently. We've been hunting for a while to find some nice purple shou. This material brews a lot different than the shou puerh we normally source. It's lighter but brews red and very clean and clear with mineral notes and a sweet soil finish. In the aroma is a hint of barbecued salmon skin and wet forest moss. Later steeps bring out a unique herbal note with more forest and soil. This is not a super dark heavy hitter like some of our other shou. It is delicate and nuanced and makes for a very enjoyable session. The wrapper on this full sized cake features the classic painting "The Jealous Lioness" by Paul Friedrich Meyerheim. Brewing Instructions Use 5-10 grams of leaves and brew with 75-150ml ( 2.5-5oz ) of water at or near boiling. Rinse once for a few seconds. Start with quick steeps under 10s. With each re-steep adjust the steep time to your taste.
