From the same farmer as our Obsession sheng puer, this tea highlights his ability to craft an excellent shou as well. With a clean taste, minimal fermentation flavour and a smooth texture, this tea goes beyond the standard hallmarks of a quality shou with a rich, nutty flavour and full mouthfeel. Because even small-batch shou requires a considerable amount of material, this Menghai dominant blend also includes material from Jinggu and Lincang, which likely contributes a unique fragrance compared to your standard Menghai productions. Although we were in search of spring sheng at the time when we discovered this farmer, we were equally impressed with his shou production set up. Our preference for shou productions tends to push us towards larger factories with tighter hygiene practices, clean fermentation and consistent oversight. However, as a former technician specializing in shou puer for a large factory in Simao, he maintains those standards for his own small batch productions in Jinggu – an uncommon quality for many small scale shou setups. Teas like this don’t shou up often. Considering this tea could easily hold its own with teas double the price and up, this is a no brainer for all ripe puer lovers. Available in 5 different wrapper designs, tong purchases will receive one of each, otherwise the design will be random. $0.14/gram
