Ancient Mannong Sheng Pu’er Tea Cake Vintage 2007

Origin: Hekai Mountain, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China
Cultivar: Mannong Menghai Da Ye Broad Leaf & Da Ye Broad Leaf
Elevation: 1650-1850m
Harvest: 2007

There are two types of Pu’er tea: Sheng (raw, green) and Shu (ripe, dark). Both originate from a rustic sun-dried green tea called Shaiqing. Sheng Pu’er has an ancient history and has deeply impacted the cultures of China, Mongolia and Tibet. This offering from Hekai Mountain is from a 1300 year old tea village, home to some of the world’s most ancient tea trees.

This vintage aged sheng from Mannong village in the Hekai region of Xishuangbanna delivers a robust strength and briskness, with a profound sense of Hui Gan (“returning sweetness”) that develops. Hui Gan is a special mouthfeel and tasting effect found in Pu’er teas made from elder tea trees: an initial bittersweet attack transforms into a salivating sweetness throughout the palate. This tea presents the fresh and invigorating bitterness of olive leaf in the initial infusions, and an impressive fullness of body. Despite over a decade of vintage aging, the polyphenol tannin structure on this tea has retained a bit of an astringent edge, indicating this tea can stand up to additional years of storage and enjoyment.