Loose shou puer mao cha from 2009, aged in Taiwan. The picking style is 'silver needle' or Yin Zhen, meaning the leaf was picked as a nice and tender bud that gives rich, complex tea broth. With shou puer production, material quality can sometimes become and afterthought, but this tea has some seriously nice leaf. Broth is velvety soft and thick, coating the mouth and soothing the throat. Sinks down to the belly with a deep warming quality. I chose this tea for its grounding energy and mellow mouthfeel, but aromatically it is no slouch. I notice dried fruit (like Chinese dates and Longyan), resiny old wood, dark chocolate and just a hint of smokiness. Finding modern production tea of this caliber for anything approaching a reasonable price is getting difficult. On top of that, careful storage for years in Taiwan has done wonders for this tea, and the seller really hasn't calculated much of that into his cost. This was a sweet find. Brewing note : As with most aged Shou Puer, we find that it's best practice not to rush the tea. A long brew time for the first infusion can lead to a nice strong taste out of the gate, but can rush the tea leading to less complex development later in the session. We try to ease into an aged shou puer session - meaning the first and second infusions might be a little thin, but it'll pay dividends as the session progresses. Plan for many brews.
