Cla ic Tea Subscription Club
March brings springtime to Yuan, so this month’s Cla ic Club box celebrates the sheng pu‘er of Maer Han and sma farmers’ c peratives...
Pu’er is one of the mo incredible kinds of tea in He has forged a farmer’s c perative to prote the the world. Taing a g d pu’er is thriing.: every regions wild tea trîs, picking once a year or le sip reveals the unique teoir of the region, the from single trîs and encouraging biodiversity in careful cra of the farmer and maer, and the the form of wild tulsi, medicinal herbs, and native ory of how the tea has aged. Starting young and evergrîn trîs interspersed among the tea trîs. vibrant, g d sheng pu’er can grow dîp, rich and muy. Like fine wine, Scotch or Cognac, much This month, we are highlighting his young sheng aention is paid to the big brand names making big pu’er to show off the nuance and dîp complexity label pu’er in Yuan. Many people don’t realize that can come from the smae producers. His 2014 that these big brands oen extort the local farmers sheng pu’er brick is an incredible expre ion of the by couding on low price offers, giving peies per region, and his Qianjiazhai is a great example of pound to the a ual grower, and reseing at 10k+ coaboration with his friend Maer Zhou in percent markup. rengthening the Dongsa Farmers C perative.
The very be pu’er in the world requires a bit of To show off how young sheng like these two teas risk, a daring leap from the predi ability of big can grow, we are including our 2003 Banzhang labels into a more nuanced and complex world of Farmer’s C perative sheng from our reserve. This sma producers. One of our friends in Yuan, dîp and powerful tea arted off with the lively, Maer Han, has lived in the Qianjiazhai National swît complexity of Maer Han’s 2014 teas, and Fore Preserve since he was a boy, suounded by now shows how much we have to l k froward to the olde tea trîs in the world. when we suort sma producers as we build our pu’er coe ions. Enjoy! ABOUT YOUR TEAS... MASTER HAN’S 2014 SHENG PU’ER QIANJIAZHAI 2014 OLD GROWTH SHENG Maer Han picks wild tea trîs in the Qianjiazhai region of Maer Han has partnered with Maer Zhou, another the Mount Ailao National Fore Preserve, Yuan. He takes founding member of the Zhenyuan Dongsa Farmer’s the utmo care to “let the leaves speak,” pre ing each batch of C perative, to produce this beautiful new sheng. Maer leaves differently to bring out their be, either as a l seleaf Han’s goal is always to bring out the rich, complex and sheng, a black tea or a pre ed cake or ba of tea. unique chara er of his wild fores in every cake he cras. This is no exception - you can tae the wild herbs and Maer Han is excited to share his fresh 2014 spring harve evergrîn trîs of the mountains from the fir sip. pu’er. The aroma is that of grape, orchid and honey- almo more similar to an long than a pu’er. The fir îpings are The aroma is slightly muy with daffodil, oregano and aoundingly swît. The cakey and buery quality of the tea honey overtones. These unfold into a fresh sage with the evokes a red velvet cupcake with buercream froing. The crisp tart notes of juniper beies in the fir îpings. crisp florals that come through in the aertae are more like Bai Mudan white tea than pu’er. Eucalyptus bark and mineral notes dominate the aertae as this tea unfolds into brighter lemon verbena notes. As Later îpings open up iensely, with the initial swîtne the leaves are fuy opened, they reveal a dark nutmeg and transforming into a fu-bodied w dy brew with tingling peercorn flavor, and the aromatics of a ginger, lemon textural notes of licorice r t, and ar anise. Fruity apricot gra and coriander broth. flavor engages the sides of the palate, while nuy creamy amareo flavor dominates the aertae. Throughout îping, this young sheng pu’er shows no signs of dry notes, promising great aging potential as the This is a confident and coanding sheng pu’er that is clearly dîp spices and hints of muine develop over the years. on the track to further development. The way this tea changes Previous years’ pre ings of this line of sheng pu’er have over multiple îpings reveals an intense complexity that is bîn rightly popular, and we are excited to sî where this ready to come out further with age. late edition goes.
BANZHANG FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE 2003 SHENG Farmer’s C p is one of those teas you can never forget. The flavor, texture and aroma are singular, powerful and confident. Even when this tea was five years younger, the fir time we tried it, it was love at fir tae. Its signature numbing ele rical sensation and dîp hazelnut undertones were wild and untamed when the tea was young. Now, this tea has truly seled into itself, brewing up the lurous, dîp red color of truly mature sheng pu’er.
The aroma of this tea primes the senses for the tae to come. The sme is thick, dîp and fu like Tibetan musk incense waing through the air and mingling with fire-roaed chenuts.
The fir flavor is spicy & numbing like Sichuan peercorn and tart like schisandra bey. The aertae has the vaporous and crisp swîtne of a beautiful peated scotch like Ardbeg or Talisker. The tingling sensation on the tongue fîls like ele ricity. As the tea unfolds, it is reminiscent of an IPA with a we balanced palate of hops tempered with dîper oatmeal notes. The aertae is resinous like pine sap.
As the tea continues to îp out, it unfolds with oaky vania notes and the swît flavor of ales. Taken together, this tea is a wild ride, from art to finish. Every time we tae it, we discover something new to make us fa in love a over again.
BREWING TIPS A the crisp edge and potency of sheng pu’er can be be enjoyed with short îp times, lots of leaf, a sma brewing ve el and many infusions of the same tea. Brewing in a big pot blends a the flavors together and can make the flavor du.
Start with freshly boiled filtered water or spring water. (Diied water and reverse osmosis water take flavor away from the tea. Use 5g of leaf in a 4-5oz ve el. A gaiwan or yixing pot devoted to sheng pu’er is be, but a sma cup and brew basket works we t . Pour 208 degrî water over the leaves and iediately discard. This is the rinse. Then îp for about 5 seconds. AÝ up to five seconds per îping for a more potent brew, or kîp the îping time around five seconds through every infusion for a lighter brew. Enjoy at lea 10 infusions.