Jin Damo Raw Puerh 2015

An exceptional sheng (raw) puerh tea hand made under the Jin Yu Xuan label by the Liu Family primarily from ancient tea trees between 500-800 years old, that grow on their farm on Mt Mengsong. Master Liu uses traditional production methods like hand firing, hand rolling, sun drying, and stone pressing of the cakes or bings while his wife Master Dong Bi Lian is responsible for blending the maocha. The pinnacle of their yearly production is their Jin Damo cake made solely from gushu (old tree) material and named after the monk Bodhidarma who was responsible for bringing what would become known as Zen Buddhism to China.

The 2015 tea has had four year’s storage in Kunming during which its initial greenness has been smoothed out,  while still retaining aroma. The tea has yet to take on an aged taste but has become very dense and juicy in texture, with its apricot sweetness taking on notes of honey and incense. The tea has very little bite or astringency and is extremely smooth in the the throat, with a pure flavour and long lasting sweetness that marks out the best gushu puerh.

Break off a small amount of tea and use off-boiling water to make many infusions of this tea.

ORIGIN
Liu Family/Jin Yu Xuan (Mt Mengsong, Yunnan Province, China)

PLANTS AND PROCESSING
500-800 year old trees, Camellia Sinensis Assamica. Harvested and pressed Spring 2015.

BREWING
95°C, 6g per cup, 10 + infusions