Liubao Ting Qing Hao brick hei cha

Yiwu Tong Qin Hao Shou (fermented) Pu-erh Mi Zhuan

Pu-erh Tea

 

Origin:  Yiwu Tong Qin Hao Tea Factory, Yiwu Tea Harvesting Area, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China

 

 

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This is a mi zhuan – a thin, compressed brick of shou Pu-erh. It was pressed in 2005 from leaves and stalk plucked and fermented in the Yiwu tea harvesting region in 2003. The zhuans have been well maintained in dry storage for 6 years.

The Yiwu Tong Qin Hao tea factory has a long history in Yunnan and enjoys a respected reputation. This zhuan features their simple, original stamped design on am otherwise plain paper wrapper. It is utterly charming and replicates how stamp marks/ company marks looked before modern attitudes of branding came into play. The paper is thin and has a hand-made look and feeling. The simple image in red is that of a dragon, a pagoda and a horse. Dragon might signify the universe, the pagoda is perhaps a reference to mankind and the horse could symbolize earth.

The tea in this mi zhuan is made from Yiwu leaf materials (Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture) and the tea is mellow and sweet. The combination of aged Yiwu leaf and stalks contain a high amount of amino acid which adds good flavor and smooth, rich mouth-feel to the liquor in the cup. The liquor is a lovely red color.

Note:
Shou Pu-erh is also known as ‘cooked’ or ‘ripe’ Pu-erh, a reference to the wo dui fermentation process that the leaf undergoes in the tea factory.

 

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Harvesting Season:

2003 Spring Pluck
(fermented in 2003 & pressed in 2005)

Steeping Instructions:

Note on steeping Pu-erh:

 

Pu-erh is traditionally ‘rinsed’ before being steeped. This is done with a quick application of hot water that is poured over the tea in the gaiwan or teapot and then immediately discarded. The rinse water is not drunk – its purpose is to help the leaves begin to open during steeping.Use additional appropriately-heated water for the 1st steeping and subsequent re-steepings.

 

Western-style steeping in a medium-large sized teapot 25-32 ounces:

 

Use 2 teaspoons (3 grams) of tea per 6 oz water
Use water that is 200°F-210°F
Rinse the tea in your teapot with a quick application of hot water
Immediately discard this liquid
Add additional hot water to start the 1st steeping
Steep for 3-4 minutes
Re-steep 1-2 additional times

 

Asian-style steeping in a small teapot under 10 oz or in a gaiwan:

 

Use 4 teaspoons (6 grams) of tea per 6 oz water
Use water that is 200°F-210°F
Rinse the tea in your teapot with a quick application of hot water
Immediately discard this liquid
Add additional hot water to start the 1st steeping
Steep for 25 seconds
Increase the steeping time an additional 5-10 seconds with each re-steep
Re-steep this leaf 4-6 times (or more!)

Map:

About Pu-erh:

Unlike most other tea, Pu-erh is made from mao cha and not directly from fresh leaf.

 

So what is mao cha? Mao cha is a simple ‘rough’ manufacture of leaf materials that consists of:

 

plucking
withering (indoors and or outdoors)
firing
rolling & shaping

 

Mao cha is considered both finished tea and half-made tea. It is essentially young sheng Pu-erh and is drunk by villagers in Yunnan as well as being the leaf that all forms of Pu-erh are made from. Mao cha is simple to manufacture but is complex in its diversity.

 

Mao cha can be made from the fresh leaf of one tea garden or be a blend of leaf from an entire tea village or from several tea producing villages within one county. Mao cha can be stored and aged after it is made, or it can be a new blend that is comprised of aged mao cha from different years. It is found in a variety of leaf sizes, too, depending on the location of the tea trees and on the type of local cultivars (size of the leaf) the mao cha was made from. Mao cha is a great example of the effects of terroir.

 

As you can see, the possibilities and resulting flavors of mao cha are almost endless. All of these variables result in a staggering choice of mao cha for Pu-erh producers to work with.