Sheng Pu’er tea is made from sun-dried green tea using the Sun’s light and energy to finally dry the tea. This natural drying method predates the modern and more widespread practice of oven drying tea. The sunlight and slow rate of natural drying creates a uniquely sweet and subtle fermentation taste and aromatic profile that only the Sun’s natural UV light can coax from the tea leaves. Sun-dried green tea is then steamed and pressed into cake forms according to Pu’er tea traditions for enjoyment and collection. This lot of 200 cakes is from a Wa ethnic people’s village in Cangyuan on the border of Lincang, Yunnan and Burma. The local people established a large plantation in 1903 by planting the seeds from ancient trees from the surrounding forests. The teas here are fruity and bittersweet with notes of resinous woods and olive leaves. The tea soup density is thick and a bit oily with multi-florals. Yunnan tea experts we traveled with in this area mentioned this old tea plantation is related to the Mengku Da Ye Zhong type of broad leaf assamica tea which is one of Lincang Prefecture’s high-performance cultivars.
