2009 Yunnan Sourcing * Road to Yi Wu "Ding Jia Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
This is the fourth cake in our "Road to Yi Wu" (易武之道) series of cakes. We have selected fall harvest (谷花茶) wild arbor material from the area of "Ding Jia Zhai" (丁家寨), a mountain area near Lao Man Sa in the Yi Wu mountain range. Ding Jia Zhai is inhabited primarily by Yao people who have for centuries picked and processed these wild arbor trees. Ding Jia Zhai area teas are known for their special thick aroma and a taste that with age becomes stronger and more textured. This tea comes from wild arbor trees between 200 and 300 years old.
When brewing the tea you will notice the tea soup is a bright yellow-gold and clear, the aroma is penetrating and the tea is full in the mouth. The flavor is textured and thick with a strong and vegetal taste . This is one of the more smooth and aromatic of the Yi Wu area teas, but its still got a fair amount of bitterness and long-lasting huigan that stimulates the mouth and throat long afterwards. The brewed leaves are thick and stout attesting to their wild arbor origin.
This tea was compressed in a small tea factory near Kunming where stone presses were used. Low temperature “baking” was used to dry these cakes after the compression process thus preserving their integrity! In total just 40 kilograms of this tea has been produced. We have delayed sales of this cake for a 2 weeks to allow the water vapor from pressing to dissipate. Further aging will only improve this wonderful tea!
Net Weight: 357 grams per cake (7 cakes per bamboo leaf tong)
Compression date: October 26th, 2009
Harvest time: October 2009
Harvest Area: Ding Jia Zhai (village), Yi Wu mountain range, Meng La county of Xi Shuang Banna
Total Production amount: 112 cakes
