Lincang

This 2010 Mengku Rongshi Sheng Pu-erh offers a journey of evolving flavors. Initial notes of damp earth and forest floor give way to a complex sweetness with hints of dried fruit and a clean mineral u. It leans earthy, mineral and fruity.

Water around 95–100 °C (203–212 °F). In a mug, steep 3–5 min. For gongfu, use 5–7 g per 100 ml, 10–20 s steeps (10–20+ rounds). You'll get to see how the flavor changes across multiple rounds. Rinse the leaves once with boiling water before your first real steep. It cleans off storage dust and gets the flavor going.

Grown in Yunnan, China. This batch is from the 2010 harvest.

Starts at $17.99 from King Tea Mall, or about $0.78/g. A 7g package gets you around 1 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $4.68 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.