Spring Mengsong

This aged raw pu-erh from Naka, pressed in 2005, offers an initial astringency that develops into a smooth, slick texture on the palate. It leaves a deep, calming sensation in the throat, inviting a s. It leans astringent, smooth and calming.

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 Spring 2005 harvest.

Starts at $51.00 from white2tea, or about $1.82/g. A 25g package gets you around 4 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $10.92 per session. Compare dark prices across vendors on Teadar.