The leaves of the puer tea sheng Bulang Cake 2018 come from the Bulang area located in southern China. To go and frame the category of puer teas we need to go and better explain the area where these teas grow since in most cases it is the area itself that gives each tea its distinctive name. In our case we are in the eastern part of the Yunnan region (famous precisely for puer production) in an autonomous prefecture called Xishaungbanna. Here in the Menghai region this cake was produced in 2018 by the Ouhai Shenyu factory. This information can tell us many things but most importantly it indicates that this tea has passed through a factory that will have used a precise recipe to form this product.
Tasting the infusion of this puer sheng will present us with a beverage with very distinct and even somewhat bitter flavors as one would expect from a product from the Bulang area. At first we will be able to taste the vegetal flavor characterized by a hint of young wood and some peaks of bitterness. Later, in the aftertaste, a fairly intense sweetness will emerge with a savory and protean character therefore less fruity or floral. The ensemble of flavors in this tea will always fill the palate very well giving us a full and rich tasting experience with quite extreme flavors of their kind.
Location of origin
Bulang - Yunnan, China
Puer sheng Bulang Cake 2018 tea production
After harvesting, the leaves are left to wither in the sun for a certain amount of time depending on the producer before going through the "killing the green" stage which is purportedly similar to that used to produce green teas. The particularity in this case lies in not heating the leaves as much as is done for a green tea so that certain enzymes are preserved that modify the flavors over time. Once the leaves are cooked they are allowed to rest overnight before concluding the drying process in the sun. Once here the maocha is obtained which can be blended with other maocha to create unique flavor and aroma combinations before being pressed into disk, tile, etc. forms. From here, the tea is ready for consumption but is also in the perfect state to be stored over the years before tasting its flavors.
Preparation of puer sheng Bulang Cake 2018 tea
We strongly recommend infusing this tea in the traditional Chinese method (Gong Fu Cha) with a gaiwan with a capacity of about 150 ml. By following this preparation, multiple infusions can be made with 5 grams of leaves that are useful to best capture all the flavor nuances of the tea.
Heat the water to a temperature of 90°C: proceed to briefly rinse the leaves and then to an initial infusion of 20 seconds. Keeping the water at the same temperature, you can then continue to exploit the same leaves by adding more water and increasing the infusion time by 5 seconds each time (20 - 30 - 35...).
This tea has a longevity of about 6 infusions.
For a more classic preparation in the Western style, we recommend 2.5 grams of leaves in a 200 ml cup with water at 90°C for an infusion time of 2 1/2 minutes.
For a better tasting experience, we suggest that you strain the tea as soon as the infusion time is over. The infusion times we suggest can be slightly modified to your liking to achieve a more or less intense taste.
We recommend storing in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
