“It is a cold Autumn evening and I am in the mood for some good quality Shu. My current “benchmark” for reviewing Shu is that if the puerh is as good as the 9016 TuoCha I recently reviewed, then it...” Read full tasting note
These cakes were a special order production by Menghai Tea Factory for HongKong Nan Tian Tea Company (the same people who commissioned the 8582 cakes in the mid-80’s). At the same time of production of the 8582 cakes, they ordered this shu (fermented) puerh production, which were stamped with a purple Tian (Sky) character to be able to differentiate them from the 8582 cakes which used the same wrappers.
This particular batch of these cakes was made for export to Taiwan, and consequently were produced without wrappers (to work around the trade restrictions between mainland China and Taiwan at that time). The bamboo tongs were stamped with a purple Tian character for identification.
This is a lovely tea. It really is a good example of how Shu (cooked/fermented) puerh can transform with age. There’s just the slightest hint of the fermentation flavour in the first couple of brews and afterwards it yields a thick, rich tea which continues for many infusions.
The Taiwanese storage has been clean, with just the slightest of frosting on some of the cakes, depending on where they were in the tong.
These cakes are just a fraction of the price of their sister cakes that were produced with wrappers for the HK/China market & make a good choice for those seeking a deep, rich and calming aged puerh tea.
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