Includes in July:
30g 2013 Attention Sheng Pu'er 心神古樹生茶
2013 Attention Sheng Pu'er (心神古樹生茶, Xīn Shén Gǔ Shù Shēng Chá, "State of Mind Ancient Tree Sheng Tea") - We added this tea to our catalogue in response to the popularity of our 2013 Gu Shu Huang Pian bing, which is made of the fully-mature leaves of ancient Pu'er trees from Nannuo Mountain. These late-harvested leaves are considered less potent and valuable than the early-spring harvest. We originally sourced the Huang Pian bing because we wanted to be able to offer a full bing of Gu Shu Cha (ancient tree tea) for less than $200, and the Huang Pian bing was less expensive than the early-spring leaves of the ancient trees.
This bing is made from the early spring harvest of the same ancient trees, harvested in the same year as the Gu Shu Huang Pian bing. The bright floral character of fresh Gu Shu Sheng Pu'er has mellowed into a complex forest-floor profile. At 7 years of age, this bing has already begun to demonstrate the earthy taste of mature sheng.
The Chinese name of this bing is pronounced Xīn Shén 心神 and means one's state of mind, presence, or psyche. The word consists of the characters meaning "Heart" and "Spirit". We gave this bing this name because, in our experience of drinking it, we feel a heightened level of focus and presence.
3 x Smoke Bomb Gu Shu Bama Sheng Pu'er Dragon Ball 古樹巴馬生茶龍球
Smoke Bomb Gu Shu Bama Sheng Pu'er Dragon Ball(古樹巴馬生茶龍球,Gǔ Shù Bā Mǎ Shēng Chá Lóng Qiú, "Ancient Tree Bama Raw Pu'er Dragon Ball") - Here at West China Tea we're huge fans of Bama tea. Bama is the name of a small stream that runs down Nannuo Mountain, starting in the Duoyi Village region and cutting down through Yakou Village. The tea that grows in this region is known for its high quality, and became famous in the 1970's when it was gifted to Mao Zedong during one of his visits to Xishuangbanna. Once abundant with ancient trees, the majority of these have been cut down. While we have gotten several different Sheng pu'er and red teas from the Bama area in the past, this is our first time getting access to the highly-sought-after gushu (ancient tree) Bama material. This prized tea is rare and expensive, and so rather than making full size bings (or even miniature bings) out of this tea, Li Shulin made a limited batch of 8 gram dragon balls.
We named these "smoke bombs" because they have a distinctive smoky fragrance, with an exquisite complex bitterness and resonant, persistent Huigan (returning sweetness) that lingers on the palette. Known for its potent and euphoric Qi, this dragon ball typifies the special character and depth of Bama sheng pu'er.