In my attempt to drink all the tea in my house, I’m actually breaking open this sheng pu’ehr which hasn’t been touched for 11 years. In fact, it was picked on March 16, 2015.
Do not be fooled by the price. I bought this pre-COVID at the Chinese Tea Shop in Chinatown, which has a stellar reputation in Vancouver. The purveyor is Daniel Liu, and he is a master of gongfu-style brewing—he, himself, taught me to do it.
Nevertheless, when I bought it, the tea wasn’t all that drinkable because sheng pu’ehr takes awhile to settle. But now that it’s entering its vintage period, it worth breaking open, although it won’t truly reach its apex until 2029. I debated whether to weight, but since I already have enough shou pu’ehrs, I’d like to taste a pu’ehr that’s relatively young.
Regardless, getting 200g of sheng pu’ehr for $14.99 is actually insane. Almost borderline theft. I assure you that if I sold this cake today, it would probably be worth $55-80.
The other thing is, this tea is underrated. Bada Mountain in Yunnan is quite decent but doesn’t have the reputation of Lao Ban Zhang or Bulang. And Menghai Bada Mountain Laozhai Tea Factory has almost zero hype behind it. Nevertheless, they’re a small boutique company that works with local farmers.
I’m quite thankful that I bought a new tiny clay teapot specifically for pu’ehr because we are definitely brewing this gongfu style.
I’m going to put in 6-10g of tea leaves into the pot. Then I will add piping hot boiled water. After a flash rinse to wake up the tea leaves, I’m going to do a steep for 20 seconds before I pour. The second steep will be for 15 seconds. 3rd and 4th for 25 seconds. 5th and 6th for 45 seconds. And after the 7th, a minute or more.
