Bu Lang Yin Hao 2012 Sheng (raw) Puer Tea 357g

Description

The leaves of this Puer come from the Bulang area in southern China. To define the category of Puer teas, it is useful to explain the area where these teas grow, since in most cases the region itself gives each tea its distinctive name. Here we are in the central part of Yunnan, famous for Puer production. This cake was produced here in spring 2012. Bu Lang Yin Hao Sheng (raw) Puer tea is made with Silver Needle tea leaves collected from tea trees more than 300 years old, in the Bulang mountains at an average altitude of approximately 1220 m. This tea is stone-pressed using the traditional method. It has the typical characteristics of Bulang tea: bitter, with a touch of honey and a little astringency. Place of origin Bulang Mountains, China Production After harvesting, the leaves are left to wither in the sun for a certain period, depending on the producer, before moving on to the “kill-green” stage, which is essentially similar to that used to produce green tea. The peculiarity here is that the leaves are not heated as much as for green tea, so that some enzymes capable of changing the flavors over time are preserved. Once cooked, the leaves are left to rest overnight before completing their drying in the sun. At this point maocha is obtained, which is then pressed to facilitate transport and aging. To press the leaves, they are exposed to a powerful jet of steam that softens them externally without changing their internal moisture. Once this state is reached, they are placed in a sack and tied tightly around them to give them the desired shape. To ensure that this structure remains fixed over time, the sack is left for hours under a stone while the leaves release the steam to which they were exposed in the previous stage. Preparation We strongly recommend infusing this tea using the traditional Chinese method (gong fu cha) to best enjoy these leaves. With this preparation, use 7 grams of leaves (about 4 teaspoons) in a gaiwan of approximately 100 ml to obtain multiple infusions with different flavors. After quickly rinsing the leaves in water at 95°C, proceed with a first infusion of 10 seconds and then, keeping the water at the same temperature, increase the time by 5 seconds each time compared with the previous infusion (10 – 15 – 20 …) This tea lasts for approximately 8 infusions. For a classic preparation according to the Western style, we recommend 3 grams of leaves (about 2 teaspoons) in a 150 ml cup with water at 95°C for an infusion time of one and a half minutes. The tea may be filtered for greater ease during tasting, and the infusion times indicated above are purely indicative, so they may also be adjusted according to personal taste. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.