2025 Yunnan Sourcing "Peerless Red Label" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
Meet the 2025 Peerless Red Label, a purposeful blend marrying Yi Wu’s round, honeyed sweetness with Bulang’s depth and backbone. Built from select ripe pu-erh lots (crafted first as mao cha, then wet-piled/wo dui in the classic Menghai tradition) and pressed into 357 g cakes with artwork by Benjamin Denkert. Red Label is tuned for a touch less bitterness than Gold Label, with a thick, sweet fruit counterpoint that blooms as the cup cools.
This year we made two Peerless blends!
- Gold Label: more dark-chocolate drive with a sweet after-finish.
- Red Label: a touch less bitter, with a thick, sweet fruit counterpoint.
Both are designed to deepen in complexity as they age.
Why it’s special
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Signature blend architecture: Yi Wu brings silky sweetness and perfume; Bulang contributes structure, depth, and length.
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Clean, satisfying body: A viscous, syrupy liquor with plush fruit and low astringency, comforting yet complex.
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Age-worthy design: Built to integrate and round out with age: fruit grows darker (jujube/plum), cocoa rounds, camphor coolness integrates over time.
Tasting notes
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Aroma: Stewed red fruit (plum/jujube), cocoa nib, brown sugar, clean wood, a hint of camphor.
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Liquor: Deep mahogany; thick, soupy texture with a smooth glide.
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Flavor: Sweet fruit core (plum/black cherry) over molasses and malt; cocoa in the background; gentle herbal-camphor lift.
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Finish & feel: Long, sweet aftertaste with cooling retronasal notes; bright yet calming energy.
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Bitterness: Noticeably softer than Gold Label, fruit carries, bitterness frames.
Origin & processing
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Blend: Select Yi Wu & Bulang ripe pu-erh materials
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Craft: Mao cha → wo dui (wet-piled) in Menghai style → rested → pressed (2025)
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Form: 357 g tea cake
Brewing guide
(Shou thrives on heat. Good water = better sweetness.)
Gongfu (recommended)
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6–7 g / 100 mL
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Boiling (100 °C / 212 °F)
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Two fast rinses, then 10s • 12s • 15s • 20s • 25s…
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8–12 infusions. Early steeps: plush fruit + molasses; later: cocoa, cedar, gentle camphor.
Western
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4–5 g / 300 mL (10 oz)
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96–100 °C • 3–4 min
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2–3 infusions, adding 30–45s each round.
Grandpa style
- 1.2–1.6 g / 100 mL, 95–100 °C • 30-60 min
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No rinses; top up as you sip. Ultra-easy, fruit-forward comfort cup.
Iced / flash-chill
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Brew western slightly stronger; pour over ice. Plush, cocoa-tinged fruit with zero rough edges.
Pairing & occasions
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Great with butter cookies, roasted nuts, dark chocolate with dried cherry, or Taiwanese pineapple cake.
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A friendly daily shou and a perfect foil to Peerless Gold Label in side-by-side tastings.
In Summary
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Caffeine: Medium-High
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Storage & aging: Store cool, dry, odor-free, away from light; allow gentle airflow. Expect fruit to deepen and texture to grow silkier over 3–10+ years.
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Name: 2025 “Peerless Red Label” Ripe Pu-erh (Shou)
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Blend: Yi Wu × Bulang
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Process: Mao cha → wo dui (wet-piled) → pressed (2025)
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Profile: Less bitter than Gold Label; thick, sweet fruit core; cocoa in support
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Net weight: 357 g per cake
- Wrapper: Benjamin Denkert
In short: A plush, fruit-forward Peerless Red Label, Yi Wu sweetness meeting Bulang depth, delivering a thick, soupy body, gentle bitterness, and a long, sweet aftertaste that will only get more harmonious with time.
Here's a list of the previously released Peerless pressings:
- 2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Peerless" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
- 2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Bronze Label Peerless" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
- 2021 Yunnan Sourcing "Peerless Red Label" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
- 2022 Yunnan Sourcing "Peerless" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
- 2023 Yunnan Sourcing "Peerless" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
- 2024 Yunnan Sourcing "Peerless" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake
This tea has been tested in a certified laboratory for 404 pesticides, and is within the EU MRL limits set for those 404 pesticide residues. For a full list of the 404 pesticides we tested for and more information about MRL testing and the EU Food and Safety commission click on this link.
