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2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Cha Tou Sheng Yun" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Brick

Original price $11.25 - Original price $70.75
Original price
$11.25
$11.25 - $70.75
Current price $11.25
"Cha Tou Sheng Yun" (茶头圣韵 aka Cha Tou Sage Verse) is our Cha Tou (Tea Nugget) ripe pu-erh brick and our third production (our 1st production was in 2009 and is sold out.)

Cha Tou is a kind of tea nugget that forms naturally from the pressures of compression and heat that occurs during the fermentation process.  Typically during fermentation process to make ripe pu-erh there is a pile of tea about 1 meter high.  It is kept wet to allow the fermentation process and the pile is turned every few days to allow for an even degree of fermentation, moving the tea from the bottom of the pile (where it is hotter and wetter) to the top of the pile where it is cooler and drier.  The "cha tou" are the leaves that ball up and get stuck together.  The best cha tou are ones that have not been over-fermented and are smaller in size.  

We drank more than 10 different "cha tou" before deciding on this one, we think the best of them all!  The tea was fermented in 2011 at the Jinggu Tea Factory in Simao.  It is creamy and smooth, already having lost some of its post-fermentation funk it's tea liquor is a clear and deep red-wine color.  Aging this for just a few months to a few years will bring out more complexity and smoothness.  Like all good cha tou ripe teas this tea can be infused more than 20 times!!!

This tea was compressed in a Kunming tea factory using a hydraulic press.  A high degree of compression is needed to get these little tea nuggets to stick together. 250 kilos in total were produced.

Net Weight:  250 grams per brick
Fermentation time:  August-September 2011
Harvest Area:  Jinggu County of Simao Prefecture

Overall rating: 4.2 / 5 from 5 reviews.

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Review topics: ["taste","tea","drinker","notes","try"].

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Reviews

Wow!

"Berry sweetness and lighest coffee taste when I brew long steeps. This is the best if you brew for several minutes."

David L. (5/5)

Smoove cocoa

"Smoove cocoa! Goes on forever. Use the hottest water and steep for 2 minutes."

Harvey (5/5)

Not What I Was Expecting but.......

"This is a great tea but a bit too smooth for my taste. It brews a nice dark cup of tea but the taste doesn't back up the color. Very nice puerh aroma but too mild for me. I generally like the raw puerh teas but I always give ripe ones a try to see if I might find that one ripe puerh that I will like. This is definitely one to try if you like a mild taste and I find it great for a mid or late day tea were you need a little boost to finish the day."

peter d. (3/5)

Unique

"Gentle fermentation. Smooth. Not too dark. Sweet. Very good price. Not very complex but no unwanted notes either. Different finish than other ripes. Plenty of infusions. I’d recommend trying, makes a good casual drinker."

Chris (3/5)

a lovely surprise

"I put 5 grams of leaf in and got half a gallon (1.8 liters) of tea back out. And all of it was delicious, down to the aroma left in the cup after I drank the last drop. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how far this tea can go without losing composure. The description is accurate... you really can get 20+ infusions. The "cha qi" is remarkable and deeply invigorating without feeling like a caffeine rush. You will get tea drunk even with a small amount of leaf, so make sure to share with a friend like I did. Both of us were moved by this tea. The "ripe" taste is there - tempered by time and mellowed out by the additional layers of sweet and savory flavors that stand out on the tongue and in the aftertaste. There is a very apparent smoothness to this tea that is pervasive in each cup, and it stands out in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is so light yet the taste is so pungent, it seems almost impossible that you could get a combination of the two... yet here we are. Each cup carries distinct fruity and woodsy notes that are characteristic of good ripe pu'erh. I get a little cherry, tobacco, maybe some peat or subtle moss notes in there too. I did not detect any fishiness, any metallic kind of taste, or any rancid odor even after the leaves had been steeped in freshly boiled water for 15 minutes. I think this tea has been aged very well for the past 7 years in a clean environment. This ripe pu'erh is the perfect daily drinker for someone who wants to be able to brew the same tea all day long without losing flavor or potency."

NN (5/5)

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