Factory Blend

This 2011 raw pu-erh cake from Xiaguan presents a robust character with evolving notes of stone fruit and a distinct, fresh woody astringency typical of its age. Over time, it promises to develop a ri. It leans fruity, woody and mineral.

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 $1.99 from King Tea Mall, or about $0.10/g. A 7g package gets you around 1 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $0.60 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.