Antiquitea

This large-leaf loosely-pressed wild white tea cake pulls apart so satisfyingly, we end up breaking off more than we need each session.  The light compression allows the leaves to steep relatively quickly providing immediately satisfying infusions.

The Wild Taimushan Shoumei tea material is mineral rich and woodsy sweet, the inclusion of leaf stems gives this tea more and more sweetness as they age, so leave the stems in the brewing vessel for a more complete session.  This tea perfectly replaces the much loved 2018 Shoumei tea cake we pressed a few years ago, and adds a new layer of wild minerality.

He dry leaves in the warm brew cup exude a sweet resinous wood sap aroma, which deepens into honey when brewed.  This tea has one of those rare virtues of maintaining all its aromas and flavors in the brew itself.   We’ve seen this virtue in some of the puer teas, like the Huazhu Liangzi Motorbike and Tree Spirit, and its always an exciting discovery, resulting in an engaging and dynamic tea session.

This shoumei really stands out to us for its longevity, the fragrances on the leaves persist in flavorful brews for about a dozen infusions.  We would consider this a very well-balanced tea due to the fact that its not all aroma or all mouthfeel, but rather a whole gestalt which doesn’t prioritize one aspect over any other.  

We recommend brewing this tea in a gaiwan or porcelain teapot.  Our brewing ratio is typically 6 grams of tea to 100-120ml of water in flash-fast infusions.  We enjoy using boiling water when brewing our whites, but experimenting with cooler temperatures can create a more textured cup of tea.