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The leaf used to
compose this tea cake was gathered, pressed and fermented in the Yong De
area of Lincang Predecture in the new Yong De Tea Factory. This factory is
owned by the Shangjiang Mengku Tea Factory, which is based in Mengku
County and draws on Mengku leaf materials for the Pu-erh made in that
factory. So Shangjiang now operates two factories, each producing Pu-erh
that reflects the specific flavor of the terroir of each place.
For this mini Mu Ye Chun cake, the leaf has been fermented for 45 days.
This tea cake is a fine composition of various grades of loose leaf
shou-Pu-erh specifically chosen to give balance and texture to the flavor
of the tea liquor.
The cake contains a high percentage of golden tips, which adds sweetness
and clarity to the flavor. The spicy, earthy aroma is pleasing and
enticing, and the color is a deep, coppery red.
Unlike many mini shou Pu-erh which are very hard and tightly compressed,
this cake has been given light/medium compression which means it will
easily break-up by hand or with a Pu-erh knife. To open the cake: gently
bend back and forth to loosed the interlocking tea leaves and break the
cake into large pieces or use a Pu-erh cake breaking tool to separate the
leaf.
Compare this Yong De tea cake to our Yong
De Cha loose leaf sheng Pu-erh!
Carefully
scrape the cake to loosen the leaves.
In most
instances use 2-3 grams of leaf per 6 ounces of water,
which can roughly be equated as 2 teaspoons of leaf per 6 oz of water.
Pu-erh can steep for 3-4 minutes.
More water can be added to steep a second and sometimes a third infusion.
(This is the standard Pu-erh preparation for the beverage accompaniment at
dim sum).
Use water that is 200 - 212°F
Asian description: ‘turbulent waters’
That’s just at the boil - Boil the water and pour it onto the leaves
Note: Pu-erh is always ‘rinsed’ before being steeped.
This is a
quick application of hot water that is poured off immediately,
and then
fresh water is used for the steepings that are drunk.
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