Ailao

This aged raw Pu-erh from the Wu Liang Mountains unfolds with deep notes of forest floor and damp earth, characteristic of its age. A delightful sweetness emerges, accompanied by hints of dried fruits. It leans earthy, fruity and complex.

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 2009 harvest.

Starts at $8.50 from Yunnan Sourcing, or about $0.20/g. A 25g package gets you around 4 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $1.20 per session. Compare dark prices across vendors on Teadar.