269 Bada 2023 Raw Puer

Made from gushu material growing in a biodiverse environment near Zhanglang village in Bada mountain, this tea offers a rewardingly bold, yet balanced experience. The overall character of this tea is similar to its younger tree counterpart , with a noticeable kuwei (pleasant bitterness) that quickly transforms to sweetness, great huigan, thick texture, and a pleasing fragrance that can pull you in multiple directions. Where this tea truly pulls ahead is in terms of the exceptionally smooth texture and the layered fragrance, which develops nicely with each brew, as well as a noticeable and uplifting chaqi/energy. Compared to other old tree material we sampled from various households in the same area, this tea easily stood out among the rest, achieving an ideal, but often elusive, balance of fragrance, texture and flavour. Although this is admittedly not a budget tea, when compared against similar calibre teas from more well-known villages, this tea still remains comparatively underpriced. Picking period: April 10-15 $1.10/gram