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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