Spring Lincang

This 2012 Raw Pu-erh from Lian Ge Village in Lincang offers a vibrant interplay of bitterness and astringency, characteristic of young wild arbor teas, quickly giving way to a refreshing, enduring swe. It leans bitter, astringent 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 from the Xiao Qiao Mu cultivar. This batch is from the Spring 2012 harvest.

Starts at $16.00 from Yunnan Sourcing, or about $0.43/g. A 25g package gets you around 4 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $2.58 per session. Compare dark prices across vendors on Teadar.