1998 vintage – first spring harvest (Wan Xiang Yu)
Weight: 20 gram sample or 390 gram cake
Type: Raw Pu-erh (naturally fermented)
Grade: Premium
Production area: Jingmai, Simao Prefecture, Yunnan Province
Taste characteristics:
During the 1990s, few teas cakes were made entirely from old growth arbor tea trees as compared to the practice today. This tea cake was made entirely from centuries old tea trees in Jingmai Mountain and then aged in Yunnan since production in 1998.
This cake was repackaged and made its debut in China recently and has been much revered. The wonder of this tea begins when you brew it because the aroma of the tea can be detected from afar. The first sip gives you a strong ginseng fragrance, a distinctive bitterness turned bitter sweet. The subsequent brews reveal a combination of stone fruit and sweet Longan (Dragon eye fruit) flavors. This tea is very pure, yet the flavors are so complex. The “Qi” is quite remarkable and relaxing. Drink this tea in the evening, take a deep breath and you cannot help but feel that “life is good.”