Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Teavivre

Tea Description:

With a century-old history, abundant rainfall and sunlight, Yunnan owns a reputation as “South of the Colorful Clouds”. She feeds her people and the land they live on with her own stream. This time TeaVivre brings you Pu-erh lovers the ZhenMu LingYa, within which the passion of Yunnan Pu-erh people you can feel. This Ripened Puerh Cake Tea ZhenMu LingYa uses fresh leaves of Mengku arbor tree as material. The tea workers have years of experience in making Pu-erh tea. With their hands and professional experience, they made the fresh tea leaves into this beautiful ripened Pu-erh cake. Using the Mengku arbor tree of high quality as material, this ZhenMu LingYa has the pure and mellow flavor of ripened tea. You could see the golden pekoe covering on the dry leaves. As the cake was suppressed just fine in tension, you could enjoy breaking the cake.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Like I do with most Pu-erh … I put off trying this Mengku Arbor Tree Ripened Puerh Cake Tea ZhenMu LingYa 2007 from Teavivre for a little while, but, I’m glad to be sipping on it today.

I brewed a chunk of this cake in my gaiwan, and I managed quite a few infusions from one small chunk.  The first infusion was earthy (most Pu-erh teas are!) but I liked that the earthy notes were subdued.  The flavor is deep, rich and mellow.  Really smooth without any astringency.  The sweetness is reminiscent of molasses!

My second infusion was a little more earthy than the first, but it was still very sweet and smooth.  By the third infusion, I found that the earthiness had really subsided to the point where I really found myself enjoying this Pu-erh.  Sure, I liked the first and second infusions just fine, but, my palate was much fonder of the third infusion!

The fourth infusion produced a slightly smoother taste – the taste was still very smooth in the first three infusions, but here I notice that the flavors tend to meld and become more unified.  It becomes a very smooth drinking kind of tea, with lovely sweet notes, hints of earth, and a sweet, caramel-y, molasses-y kind of taste all coming together in a seamless flavor.  It was really nice and mellow – the kind of cup that you like to enjoy after a meal.

I could have very easily taken this tea through even more infusions … although it was getting late.  My personal tea time had come to an end before this tea was ready to quit!  A really enjoyable Pu-erh … not my favorite, perhaps, but, certainly one I’d be happy to enjoy again!