ORIGIN
Xiaguan factory (Yunnan Xiaguan Tuo Tea (Group) Co., Ltd.) is one of the oldest and most respected pu'er factories in China. Established in 1941 in Dali City, Yunnan province, this factory has been producing high-quality pu'er tea for more than 80 years. Xiaguan factory is famous for its special recipes, as well as the high-quality raw leaf material used in the production of sheng and shu pu'er. This factory is located in a mountainous area with the perfect climate for growing and producing tea. Most of the production is done using their own grown tea material, which makes their pu'er special with huge potential of becoming a collectible. Nowadays this factory produces pu'er under several brand names: Song He ("Pine and crane"), Bao Yan ("Precious Flame"), Nan Zhao ("Southern Zhao"), and "G". Each of these brands specialises in different market directions. Xiaguan factory traditionally presses their tea in tuo cha (nest), mushroom, cake, and brick forms.
Bao Yan's "Precious Flame" specializes in sheng pu'er production oriented towards western China and Tibet. Thanks to the long history of high demand for tea in Tibet, this brand produces highly authentic tea. These bricks are perfect examples of tea that the people of Tibet prefer to drink daily. Made from bigger leaves with strong taste and powerful energy, this is quite a nice representative of a semi-aged sheng with a Xiaguan profile. There are a lot of different grade levels and this one will represent the lower quality, nevertheless, it's still a very nice sheng pu'er for a good price.
ORGANOLEPTICS
Made from bigger leaves with a small number of buds and stems, this tea is traditionally processed and pressed into 250g cakes. The Xiaguan factory is famous for its hard pressing, however, this brick is quite easy to break apart. The woody and herbal aroma will develop into fresh nuts and dried fruits during the tea ceremony. The taste is sweet and deep with woody and dried fruit notes. This tea remains strong, quite bitter with sweet menthol freshness in the aftertaste. After almost 20 years, it has a pleasant aged tea flavour.