SHENG PUER - 2024 Hidden Valley Wild Ancient Trees

 This tea has won The Leafies 2025 Highly Commended Dark Tea. 

Crafted from selected Mengku large-leaf tea trees (forest wild-released variant). The tea trees grow in forests at altitudes above 2,200 meters, from ancient trees over 300 years old. The soil is weathered brick-red (sandstone) loam. The tea trees are naturally wild-released, surrounded by forests where other trees and bushes and tea trees grow together. The breath of the forest, blended with floral and herbal aromas, gives this tea its distinctive wild mountain character.

The dry leaves carry the untamed aura of ancient wild trees and are covered with abundant tea hairs. The liquor is golden, glossy, clear, and even. The aroma is a pure wild floral-fruit fragrance with honeyed fruit notes, elegant and long-lasting.

The taste is sweet like fruit honey, with the aroma integrates seamlessly into the tea liquor, showing excellent balance and harmony. After swallowing, a naturally bold wild charm and lingering aroma echo throughout the mouth. The aftertaste is long-lasting, producing continuous salivation and a deeply pleasant experience.

Origin: Bang Dong, Mengku County, Lincang prefecture, Yunnan Province, China

Harvest: the tea leaves were harvested in April 2024 and compressed in 2025.

BREWING TIPS: 

Water & Preheat: Use 100°C water for Gaiwan and 90°C for teapot and preheat your teapot.

Brewing Vessels: using porcelain Gaiwan for a better fragrance and Yixing clay teapot for a deeper flavour.

Rinse the Leaves: Rinsing is optional. I would personally recommend to rinse for 5 seconds to help the leave to loose up and better for release flavour evenly. 

Water to leaves ratio: 5g / 100ml

Brewing time: Steep the first infusion for 30 seconds, then 10 seconds for the 2nd to 5th infusions. After that, gradually increase the brewing time with each successive infusion, adjusting to your personal taste.

As this tea is still young, keep the lid off between infusions to allow the leaves to breathe, preventing excess steam from over-heating the leaves while they rest.