Tea: Tree Spirit 2021 Spring Huazhuliangzi Raw Puer
Type: Raw Puer (生普洱）
Harvest: April 2021
Press Date: April 2021
Region: Boatang, Huazhuliangzi, Mengsong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan
2023 Tasting Notes: honeycomb, sweetgrass, camphor, rock salt
This item is a small 7 gram single-session pressing of the larger similarly named 200 gram cake: same material, same maker, same press date. We offer them individually or in sets of three.
Already with two years under its belt, this tea is rich and deep with mineral notes that trigger a lasting huigan. There are some pleasant camfor notes entering the broth and a noticeably mellowed and mature character compared to tea made this spring. As this tea was aged for two years in Tan’s production facility of the Baotang Village, wither level of heat and humidity have changed the tea noticeably in just these two years.
This tea offers a good look into what the 2023 Huazhuliangzi cakes can become in part with a little bit of thoughtful aging, though the 2023 Huazhuliangzi is a 50/50 blend of Gushu and old arbor, so it should have a little more fragrant punch in its youth.
If you're interested in sampling this year's full flight of puer pressings, check out the Yunnan Flight, a set of 6 dragon balls from different regions each pressed in 7 gram balls for convenient brewing.
We recommend brewing this tea gongfu style in a gaiwan or Chinese teapot. We use 6 grams of tea in a 100ml brewing vessel with boiling water, steeping 5 second for the first few infusions and adding 5 seconds after ever subsequent infusion. Most of these puer teas can be re-infused over 15 times, when brewing in this gongfu style.
Curious about these Chinese puer tea terms, check out our growing appendix of Chinese - pinyin - English translated terms here.
