Ailao

This aged raw Pu-erh from Wuliang Mountain presents a profound earthy character, reminiscent of damp forest floors and dark wood. Layers of dried fruit and a subtle, lingering sweetness emerge, offeri. It leans earthy, fruity and sweet.

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 2011 harvest.

Starts at $2.99 from King Tea Mall, or about $0.12/g. A 7g package gets you around 1 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $0.72 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.