A loose, accelerated fermented pu-erh tea. The tea is made at the beautiful Wa Kan Shan tea plantation in Simao, in southern Yunnan (1,600 m altitude). The tea garden has existed since 1960. The plants of today were then grown from seed and thus not staked, so the roots go vertically deep into the soil instead of staying horizontally on the surface.
The tea has a nice earthy flavor with a pleasant sweet undertone. From the end of April 2018.
So the plants are now about 60 years old and consist of a mix of local cultivars. These cultivars provide not only rich flavor but also good resistance to disease and pest damage.
The plantation is managed by the Wa, one of 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. They manage the plantation completely in harmony with nature. No pesticides are used but chickens! These eat insects but also dig into the ground in search of insects, turning the ground over. This way grasses and weeds get less chance which gives the plants more room to grow.
In an accelerated fermented pu-erh like this one, fermentation is the most important part of the making process. The smell released in the process should have notes of sweet date and certainly not stale. The factory that processes the leaf into tea has 30 years of experience in making pu-erh tea and proper fermentation.
The making process is: picking, baking in the wok, rolling, drying in sunlight, fermentation, grading for quality.
