Tea: 2022 Laos Green Tea (Sheng Puer 生普洱)
Type: Raw Puer
Harvest: November 2021 and March 2022
Press Date: March 2022
Region: Bankomen, Phongsali, Laos
Producer: Keosuyaping Family
The newest edition of the Laos Gushu Sheng puer is actually a mix of harvests and tree ages. We had our Laotian partners pick some of their 400+ year old trees last Autumn for a very special all-gushu premium tea cake. However, after picking and processing, the border between Laos and China closed. Thus, our farmers were sitting in Laos with all their tea, but no one to sell it to. Additionally, as they survive on selling tea, they had very little business to sustain themselves. So this spring, we decided to increase our initial order and create a blend of Autumn Gushu and Spring Cultivated tea trees. The results are spectacular, we have a cake that exemplifies the best of both worlds, the calm sweet and mineral influence of the gushu compounded with the punchy, thick, viscous new bush gives this tea something that the
all-gushu 2021 cake didn't have.
The appearance of the cake is quite complex. There is a mix of thick gushu stems, a few large Huanglian, and a decent amount of silver buds. The cake is more loosely compressed than that of the 2021 gushu puer, and breaks apart very nicely. As this tea is harvested some 20 kilometers from the boarder with China's mountainous Yiwu region, the characteristic of this tea has a lot of those found in Yiwu: namely a soft and sweet nature that isn't as intense as some other puer regions.
The aroma off the wet leaves is a bright citrus that is not without healthy vegetation notes. When brewed, the liquor is a bright cold, and the brew coats the tongue very evenly delivering a very pleasant and deep huigan. There is a decent amount of honey notes in the brew blended with some strong flower fragrances like that of rose or fresh iris. There is a distinct creamy note to the liquor as the brew count climbs, the heavy floral notes fade to be replaced with a soft, buttery sweetness. As with out 2021 Laos Puer, we are very excited to see how this cake tightens up and. mellows as it ages over the next few years!
As with all our sheng puer, we brew 6 grams in a 100-120ml gaiwan or unglazed teapot with water right off the boil. You can experiment with different water temperatures, cooler temps give the tea a little more sweetness, while higher temps bring our more mouthfeel.
Never bought a tea cake before? Check out our video on how to break it apart!
Check out the other teas offered by the Keosuyaping Family here!
