1986 Yiwu Raw Loose Tea

I woke up this morning feeling tired and anxious, so I wanted to drink tea that would soothe me. I woke my body up with a couple of bowls of matcha, then turned to this tea I bought last year from Sunsing. As I understand it, wealthy puer afficionados will drink loose-leaf sheng on a daily basis because it has many of the wonderful characteristics of high-class aged sheng at a fraction of the cost. I paid $550HKD (about $70US) for 150 grams. By way of contrast, I paid $34US for two 400g beengs of yesterday's tea, so this is considerably more expensive. It's also considerably better! I placed between 4-5g in a glass gaiwan, rinsed once, and started with a series of eight flash infusions. Ah! This tea has a wonderfully warm earth-wood aroma and a full sweet aftertaste that I think is characteristic of the yiwu leaf. I wonder how much of the deep pleasure of the first mouthful was because this tea contrasts so profoundly with the matcha, which I brewed a little strong and hence carried some bitterness. Hmmm. I recall reading a blog by somebody (Hobbes?) about whipping up a batch matcha in some left over puer. That suddenly seems like great idea.
I let the tea rest for an hour or so, then began brewing again. As you can see from the picture, which shows the 9th & 11th brews, the tea begins to lose patience quite abruptly. It loses some of it fullness, too, but the clear sweetness remains well through subsequent brews. I can't say for sure how long it lasts, because I've stopped drinking it for the time being.




This a great tea for newbies (including me). I brewed some up last summer for one of my sister-in-laws, Roberta, who does not care for tea & thus was humoring me. I had my back turned when she took her first sip, but Margaret tells me that her face totally lit up. Here by the way is a photo of the brewing set up I used in our motel room in Joplin, MO.
But I don't think this is a great tea, largely because it doesn't change much from steep to steep. Still, I'm glad I have it. And I see that it's still listed on the Sunsing website for $550HKD. That's something of a bargain!