2021 Qian Jia Zhai Sheng Pu'er Bing (千家寨生普洱餅, Qiān Jiā Zhài Shēng Pǔ'ěr Bǐng, Qian Jia Zhai Sheng Pu'er Bing) In the summer of 2021, our Yunnan tea farmer Li Shulin lost his home and all his tea processing equipment when his house burned down. Lacking the ability to produce tea in Nannuo Mountain, his home, he traveled to the farms of various friends and relations around Xishuangbanna. There he produced small batches of autumn-harvested tea from his friends' farms, mostly sheng pu'er but also some shu. Some of these farms are located on famous tea mountains, some are more obscure, but collectively they represent a tour of Xishuangbanna. In the winter of 2021 he pressed these limited production batches into 40 gram bings, which we are excited to be able to offer now after a year and a half of aging.
Located about 2 hours north of Nannuo Mountain in Xishuangbanna, just west of the Lancang River, Qian Jia Zhai means "Thousand Family Village" or "Qian Family Village" (where Qian means thousand but is also a surname). This region is famed for its abundance of wild ancient trees. A complex and especially fragrant tea with dark leaves, this cake features a sweet stone-fruit aroma reminiscent of apricot or nectarine. A surprising and distinctive floral note, reminiscent of iris, hides in the exhale.
