Session Time: 1-2 hours Sheng Pu'er (生茶 lit. "Raw Tea") is an elusive category to most tea drinkers in the US, yet is also one of the most exciting. Being minimally processed, this style is beholden to express the ecology from which it came--and any storage notes that came with it. Thus, it's a fun challenge to maintain the many layers of the leaves' character, while allowing them to mature gracefully.
This beautiful Raw Pu’er was aged in its place of origin, in Mangjing Village (Jingmai Mountain) for a decade. The result is a very approachable, golden brew with budding character, depth, and diverse expression of flavor: Fresh aromatics of butterscotch and jasmine dance with vegetal tannins of artichoke and straw, leaving an aftertaste of wildflower honey and the body-feel of a strong-yet-calming massage.
Steep carefully though: this tea can get mildly astringent! For this reason, we recommend gentle steeps (10-20s) despite the hot water (205-212), and a mindful leaf-to-pot ratio (4g per 100g). You could play with a wide-mouthed Gaiwan that allows the aromatics to accumulate.
