ORIGIN
Yunnan Chi Tse Beeng Cha (Qi Zi Bing Cha) - translated as "Yunnan Seven Cake Tea". This term began to be used in the early 70's for all compressed tea produced in Yunnan Province. Previously, this tea was called 'Yuan Cha' (Round Tea). At least in the middle of the 19th century, local tea was pressed into 7 liang (357 g) cakes and packed 7 pieces per 'tong' for easier centralized taxation! Today, this term is used not only for authentic ones but also for replicas created much later! This design says nothing except that you will find compressed tea leaves inside. So, in our case, we have tea pressed in 2003 by an unknown manufacturer from Menghai County.
Despite this, our tea has a nice chance to conquer your heart because completely different quality assessment mechanisms come into play. In a “blind tasting,” the real organoleptic characteristics and energetic properties always win against the brand name, legend, and prestige of the company.
After production, the tea has undergone a traditional Hong Kong storage followed by natural storage, which resulted in its excellent taste and aroma. On the front side, you can see a huge number of young buds, but on the back side and inside the cake the situation is different. The tea consists of large 8-9 grade leaves, after all, this is exactly what shu pu'er was like in their early years. The pressing is light, which makes it easy to disassemble the tea, weighing out the required amount for brewing. Looking at the back, you immediately realize that the tea looks like the real, authentic Shu (Ripe) Pu'er of the '70s. Large leaves, crumpled into 'nuggets', promise a soft, deep, and multifaceted taste. Glossiness and neatness indicate careful storage over the past 20 years!
ORGANOLEPTICS
Dry tea leaves have a fresh and woody fragrance, which is the clear character of traditional Hong Kong storage. After warming up, the aroma develops into deeper woody motifs. After rinsing aroma develops into nutty, tobacco, bread notes. The aroma is very rounded, without bright accents, which allows you to plunge into it deeper than usual and dive into this universe of aromatic wood. A clean and deep infusion, the color of a red wine, with a longer infusion turns into a coffee, almost black color.
The taste is sweet and mellow, with woody, nutty notes and a long sweet aftertaste. Light hints of betel nut and Chinese traditional medicine. It has a silky and creamy texture and can withstand a large number of brews, giving a stable, rich, deep taste. This tea has a calming, relaxing effect that perfectly fits an evening tea session. Completely ready to drink, this tea is an excellent candidate for storage with further development of its flavor and energy!
An excellent example of the fact is that nowadays there are still people who care and try to preserve traditions and produce tea that can surprise and even inspire.