ORIGIN
LAOBANZHANG is a legendary village, located in the Bulang mountains, Menghai area, Yunnan province, China. The altitude is 1700-1900 m above sea level. The unique climate, high altitude, soil, and humidity create an excellent environment for the tea trees' growth, which results in giving this tea a special character and taste. Nearly 200,000 ancient trees have been grown here for hundreds and even thousands of years. There are at least 9000 tea trees older than 800 years old. Pesticides are forbidden there by the law, and the local people grow tea organically, following old cultivating and harvesting traditions. Due to a limited quantity of raw leaf materials, the price is getting higher each year. The annual harvest is about 50 tons. It is becoming increasingly challenging nowadays to get an authentic Laobanzhang, therefore, I'm very happy to share this unique tea. This tea is incredibly famous for its unique, intensive, long-lasting flavour and strong Cha Qi (energy).
GAN EN - Grateful Tea Factory - has a reputation for quality production and guarantees the authenticity of raw materials, working with tea leaves from different parts of the Bulang Shan area. Masterful processing and further natural storage over the years turned this tea into a high-end product. The early spring harvest, consisting of a combination of “bud and one/two leaves”, has long become the standard today, used to produce the highest quality pu'er tea.
ORGANOLEPTICS
This amazing cake is made from tea leaves plucked from ancient trees. The young combination of "one bud and two leaves" is traditionally processed and stone-pressed into 357g cakes. This stunning cake inspires us to be gentle and to try not to break even a single leaf. The dry leaves' aroma is sweet with notes of dried fruit, but right after keeping them in a warmed teapot, the fragrance develops to be quite intense. Very sweet and tender aroma with notes of berries, marmalade, and honey. After rinsing, some notes of vanilla and wildflowers appear. The taste is deep and thick with tones of honey, wood, and sugar.
To start with, I would recommend brewing this tea with a little bit of cooled-down water, for example, 90° or even 85°C. This trick always works well with young shengs and allows getting a smoother and gentler taste. This high-level sheng puerh is worth your attention!