While visiting Xishuangbanna this Spring, I got to spend
a
day
hik
ing
in
Nannuo Shan.
Toward the end of the day, we
wandered down a hillside through a gorgeous old growth
obviously Da Yi
(Large Leaf) Varietal tea fi
eld into an e
thnic Aini village called "Shi Tou Xin
Zhai," or "Old Stone Village."
In t
he village, we were instantly attracted to these huge wooden
platforms by a house where the Aini tea farmer who
lived there was drying some of his recently picked
& processed
tea from the hills behind his house.
We ended up befriending this farmer, who in a display of typical, amazing Yunna
n-style hospitality invited us into the little shop/tasting studio attached to his
warehouse to sample some of his recently picked and processed "Gan Cha."
Many Pu-Erh tea farmers do not refer to their tea as "Mao Cha;" rather, they often refer to it as "Gan Cha" or "Dry Tea," since in their eyes it is not a semi-finished tea or a raw material. Really, "Gan Cha" is a more appropriate term in this type of setting. Anyway, we spent a couple of hours tasting his spring harvest, comparing teas that were two days old next to teas that were 10 and 20 days off the tree.
Before coming to this village, I was a fan of Nan Nuo Pu-Erh teas, but this experience really put these teas into my top few growing areas in Yunnan. This tea was picked and processed about 10 days before we arrived, and it hasn't stopped evolving since I first tried this at the end of April.
It is a typically assertive and very fresh tasting young "Gan Cha." It is typically Nannuo in that it is relatively mild but possesses a great amount of character. It yields a very nicely clear liquor with a green vegetable & grassy aroma. The mouthfeel is moderately thick and slightly mouth and throat coating. I really enjoy the hui gan (bittersweet aftertaste) that reveals itself rather slowly after finishing a cup.
I had a blast stumbling onto this tea, and I hope you enjoy drinking it.
More photos from this day can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49574833@N05/sets/72157623797523007/Note: Mao Cha is Very Young Pu-Erh tea, and, because of
its bold, green & assertive flavor profile (like any other young
Sheng/Raw Pu-Erh tea), it can occasionally cause stomach upset for
people with sensitive stomachs or for people who consume large
quantities in a short amount of time.
Volume Discount: 10% off 100 g, 15% off 250 g, 25% off 500 g or more
