Bulang Maocha 2016, Pu’er shengcha

明前喬木 私藏布朗銀毫毛茶

Taste profile

Fresh, earthy overtone with tints of almond and light honey, on an undertone of steamed satoimo ( baby taro ). Smooth, bright, refreshing liquor with a malty overtone with herbal notes suggesting cardamon, fennel seed and thyme. Undertone of jujube. Slight tints of celery and bitter gourd. Cleansing, ever slightly minty aftertaste that slowly turns to light sweetness.

Infusion tips

Making tea from a maocha using a gaiwan

Always blanch the leaves before infusion for this tea. This allows for not only easier opening up of the leaves for a truer taste profile, but also expedites taste release when you employ shorter infusions.

For a controlled amount of bitterness and yet the full taste profile, try 1g to 100ml water and infuse for 5 minutes. If you prefer lighter tastes, use shorter infusion time and a larger leaf to water ratio.

If you are a keen drinker, try 8g of leaves in your standard 150ml infusion ware for an initial infusion time of 30 sec, after blanching.

For more info, please refer to this article: About Infusing Pu’er Maocha

The taste profile of this tea changes with time. Different storage conditions will have effects on the outcome.

Bulangshan ( Chinese: 布朗山 )

This is one of the most important pu’er regions in the Xishuangbanna ( 西雙版納 ) area in southern Yunnan. Administratively it is part of Menghai county ( 勐海縣 ), where many famous pu’er regions are. Legend has it that the Bulang ethnic group ( who now resides also in a few other pu’er regions ) was the first people in Yunnan to produce tea, if not the first in the world.

An aged puer maocha

Previously we offered another batch of this tea from an earlier year when it was relatively fresh, as it was a trendy thing, and like many others are still doing. However, we evaluated it and concluded that it was not a good practice. Although most people still do not believe in the idea of TCM properties in tea and how it can play a role in the drinker’s health, we do, and we know it does from our practice and experience.

All fresh maochas are very cold in TCM and when misused, can cause imbalance in the constitution of a person with a slightly weaker health or unbalanced energies. That is why we have aged all out maocha offerings before release.