{"title":"Puerh Tea","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"2018-spring-gedeng-guoyoulin-puerh-tea","title":"2018 Spring Gedeng Guoyoulin Puerh Tea","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis puerh tea comes from the protected state forest in Gedeng and is from tall pole trees which shoot up to reach the light in the forest.  The first couple of infusions seem light, but quickly there is a strength and richness that emerges in the tea.  This is a powerful tea that displays all the characters of a perfect, biodiverse  environment and healthy strong trees.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs of Spring 2026, this tea has mellowed nicely, lost the greenness of youth and developing nice rich fruit flavours with steady aftertaste.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EoT","offers":[{"title":"400g Cake","offer_id":8402340053044,"sku":"2018春-革登-1饼","price":280.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":8402395529268,"sku":"2018春-革登-25g","price":22.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/EOT00581.jpg?v=1526713465"},{"product_id":"2018-spring-piercing-the-ilusion-puerh-tea","title":"2018 Spring \"Piercing the Illusion\" Puerh Tea","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e This puerh tea is tea of collaborations - the first, between ourselves and the very talented artist \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/maggietaylor.com\/\" style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em;\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMaggie Taylor\u003c\/a\u003e, who agreed to share a piece of her art to adorn the wrapper.   The second, is a collaboration between man and nature.  The tea is composed of a blend of wild \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e(non-camellia sinensis var assamica) \u003c\/span\u003etree leaves along with a leaves from cultivated ancient trees.  Both aspects of this blend bring their own characters to the resultant tea and hopefully make the sum greater than it's parts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI've been experimenting with this blend over the past year and am very happy with how the tea has turned out.  For those who value puerh tea for its energetic qualities, this is surely a tea to try. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EoT","offers":[{"title":"400g Cake","offer_id":8402509627444,"sku":"2018春-和合-1饼","price":128.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":8402509660212,"sku":"2018春-和合-25g","price":9.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/EOT00604.jpg?v=1526719007"},{"product_id":"2018-spring-eot-10-year-anniversary-puerh","title":"2018 Spring EoT 10 Year Anniversary Yiwu","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e In 2008 we travelled to Yiwu and pressed our first puerh cakes, marking the beginning of what was to become The Essence of Tea.  Each year since then we've pressed puerh cakes and we thought it only fitting that we should mark this anniversary with a puerh tea cake from Yiwu's Guoyoulin.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea comes from ancient trees, growing in the protected state forest in Yiwu mountains.  The environment is pristine and the trees healthy and strong.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea is very elegant in the mouth - smooth and refined, with a long sweet aftertaste and vibrant energy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe calligraphy for this wrapper was painted for us by a famous Kunming artist.  The text is from a Tang dynasty poem by the poet Jiadao.  The first line reads 十年磨一剑 （10 years to sharpen a sword).  As with most poems, the words have many layers of meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EoT","offers":[{"title":"400g Cake","offer_id":8407218421812,"sku":"2018春-易武国有林-1饼","price":640.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":8407218454580,"sku":"2018春-易武国有林-25g","price":46.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/EOT00595.jpg?v=1528291482"},{"product_id":"2012-eot-bulang","title":"2012 EoT Bulang","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea was a bit of an experiment for us. We'd found 2 different maochas from Bulang mountain, which were each excellent, but in different ways. One was old trees from around Manmu village, while the other was old trees from a few km away. We went back and forth, trying to choose one of them to press into cakes, and in the end decided to blend the two teas. The Manmu was very pure in flavour with a strong qi and strong ku (pleasant bitterness), the other was thicker in the mouth and more sweet in the aftertaste, but also with a strong qi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy feeling is that the result has turned out well. The strong ku of the Manmu has been tamed a little and become more thick, while the other has benefited from some extra bitterness and qi. Thick and exceptionally smooth, the bitterness that Bulang is famed for is nicely balanced with a quick, sweet aftertaste and long evolving flavours and sensations in the mouth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter years of ageing in our Malaysia warehouse this tea is progressing well.  The leaves have darkened and the greenness gone.  It still has a powerful bitterness, along with deeper tobacco flavours and aroma.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea was lab tested for 200 of the most common agrochemicals. None were detected.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EoT","offers":[{"title":"400g cake","offer_id":8645666209844,"sku":"2012-布朗-1饼","price":328.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":8645666242612,"sku":"2012-布朗-25g","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2012_85d1abd5-d1de-44bc-b99c-807b4178736a.jpg?v=1724144852"},{"product_id":"1980s-thick-paper-8582","title":"1980's Thick Paper 8582 10g","description":"\u003cp\u003eThick Paper 8582 was the first batch of this recipe, made in the mid-80's and using a blend of plantation tea with old tree tea, thought to be from Yiwu area.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is one of the most renowned cakes of the Chi-Tse era of puerh production and is sought after and renowned amongst collectors of aged puerh tea.  Unfortunately the price has increased accordingly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe taste is smooth and pure tasting, with a pronounced camphor flavour and with a very nice qi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e We sell this as 10g samples.  For full cake pricing please contact us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Menghai Tea Factory","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8863599099956,"sku":"1980-厚纸8582","price":360.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/1-254.jpg?v=1529641196"},{"product_id":"2014-eot-long-lan-xu-puerh-tea","title":"2014 EoT Long Lan Xu Puerh tea","description":"\u003cp\u003e*** Freshly restocked from our Malaysia Warehouse 12\/2024 ***\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe pressed this tea in 2014 from old trees growing near Bangwei.  Since then it has been stored in our warehouse in Malaysia, where it has been ageing well.  The tea liquid has mellowed and browned significantly, and the fresh green flavour has gone, beginning the transformation into slightly aged flavours, tobacco notes and smooth, medium-thick liquid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf I was to nitpick about this tea, I'd say that perhaps it could be a little thicker in the mouth, but that's only comparing it to teas that are several times the price. Considering the price and the other good qualities of the tea, we felt this offered great value for money as a very good quality tea to drink regularly and to age. I think it definitely punches well above its weight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea was grown naturally without pesticides or fertilisers. We confirmed this with a lab test for agrochemical residues by one of the leading laboratories. Two hundred of the most common agrochemicals were tested for \u0026amp; no traces were detected. The lab test is available to view here:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.essenceoftea.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/long-lan-xu.pdf\"\u003eLong Lan Xu Lab Test Report\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"400g cake","offer_id":8948141457460,"sku":"2014-龙兰续-1饼","price":146.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":8948141490228,"sku":"2014-龙拦续-25g","price":11.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/09167068a97e5291aa5748111741c78e_cc52a4ed-5c69-4c10-b94b-5074f8bc4d53.jpg?v=1734084128"},{"product_id":"2014-yunyun-ancient-tree-puerh-tea","title":"2014 Yunyun Ancient Tree Puerh Tea","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea was a bit of a gamble for us when we made it back in 2014.  It was from a very remote and undeveloped village \u0026amp; the processing was quite rudimentary - giving it a smokey flavour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNonetheless, the trees were healthy, old, hadn't been overpicked and agrochemicals had never been used.  The base material of the tea was vibrant and thick \u0026amp; we felt that it would be a tea that would age well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter years in our Malaysian warehouse, I'm happy to say that our instincts were correct - the smokiness has gone, leaving a tea that is progressing very nicely.  It thick and rich, with a long lasting aftertaste, oily consistency and very nice energy.   This tea is very nice to drink.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"200g cake","offer_id":13345554432052,"sku":"2014-云运-200g","price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":13345554464820,"sku":"2014-云运-25g","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/a8ea70527ed2906e390edd578885dc20.jpg?v=1756457455"},{"product_id":"2016-eot-xinzhai-puerh-tea","title":"2016 EoT Xinzhai Puerh Tea","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe pressed this cake from pure old tree tea in 2016 and have stored it in Malaysia since then.  The tea is thick, with a long lasting aftertaste, nice aroma and pleasant flavour.  It has mellowed considerably in the past couple of years, becoming smoother and more balanced.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a very nice tea at this price point \u0026amp; making it ideal for a tea to drink more regularly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"200g","offer_id":13498277265460,"sku":"","price":88.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g sample","offer_id":13498277298228,"sku":"","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/9b140cceaec23b94dce15c8fefc15166.jpg?v=1753777267"},{"product_id":"1980s-yi-wu-cang-zhen-guang-yun-gong","title":"1980's Yiwu Cang Zhen -Guang Yun Gong 10g Sample","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor some - Yiwu Cang Zhen needs no introduction. It’s a batch of late-70’s \/ early 80’s Guangdong Puerh that was imported into Malaysia around 20 years ago.  The name was given by the importer, but may or may not contain actual Yiwu tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Guangdong cakes produced around this time varied tremendously in quality, with many batches being mediocre at best.  This batch however is something quite different \u0026amp; easily the best batch of Guangdong cakes of this era that I’ve tried.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe storage has been very clean with no off-flavours.  The taste is smooth, thick and rich.  The processing of Guangdong cakes are different from other Yunnan puerh teas, but this is definitely an interesting tea to drink.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe price is for a 10g sample.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":14815324831796,"sku":"","price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/EOT01153.jpg?v=1555525668"},{"product_id":"2017-spring-eot-wuliang-wild","title":"2017 Spring EOT Wuliang Wild","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe really like the character of the ancient wild \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e(non-camellia sinensis var assamica) \u003c\/span\u003etrees in this area of Wuliang mountains \u0026amp; early this year we commissioned a farmer to oversee the picking of this tea and for him to process the fresh leaves.    These ancient wild trees only flush once a year \u0026amp; their energy is concentrated in their spring leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe character of wild tea is different from cultivated tea - with a flavour that seems light at first taste but swells up in in body and taste throughout the infusions.  The qi is very deep, also beginning in a subtle manner but creeping up as you drink it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a very nice wild tea.  It's clean, smooth and powerful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter almost three years of storage in Malaysia, the grassiness of this has gone.  It has nice honey sweetness with thick body and the strong energy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNote:  This is not standard Camellia Sinensis vs Assamica, but from wild tea tree varietals that grow in the forest\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":31232095223860,"sku":"2017 春无量甜野-1","price":7.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400g cake","offer_id":31232095256628,"sku":"2017 春无量甜野-2","price":94.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/EOT01300_274a882c-6315-46f6-83fe-077e5d5636bf.jpg?v=1559631742"},{"product_id":"2003-golden-needle-white-lotus-shou-puer","title":"2003 Golden Needle White Lotus Shou Puerh","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea was made by Menghai Factory in 2003 and given the name \"Golden Needle White Lotus\". It was purchased by an acquaintance of ours and stored in his Kunming warehouse since then. The storage has been very clean, allowing the fermentation flavours to dissipate. It's composed entirely of buds and small leaves, giving a concentrated flavour and creamy character. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Menghai Tea Factory","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":31476209483828,"sku":"25克2003金针白莲熟普洱","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300g","offer_id":31476209516596,"sku":"300克2003金针白莲熟普洱","price":105.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1000810-3.jpg?v=1576571287"},{"product_id":"2020-xu-jia-liang-zi","title":"2020 Xu Jia Liang Zi","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis was a new tea for us this year from an area near Yiwu's Zhang Jia Wan village.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea is from ancient trees growing at the edge of a protected forest.   The tea is very refined and smooth, with a special aroma and flavour that burst in the mouth and nose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe aftertaste is steady and sweet and there is a good body to the tea, coating the mouth and throat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":34437809864861,"sku":"","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":34437809897629,"sku":"","price":142.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022485.jpg?v=1590552780"},{"product_id":"2019-yao-zhu-di","title":"2019 Yao Zhu Di","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is one of our favourite gardens we've come across in Yiwu's Guoyoulin (protected forest).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trees are old, with many gaogan (tall pole) trees throughout the garden.   The farmer is also very special - he is very patient with the processing, performing the kill-green slowly \u0026amp; hand-rolling with great care.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we visited him this Spring, it was still early in the harvest \u0026amp; he didn't have any of this year's tea for us to buy.   He did have some from last year though, which he was planning to press to store by himself.  He sold us a little of this tea from 2019 and promised to save us some tea from this year too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea is thick and rich, with a good balance of strength and refinement.  The aftertaste is long and steady.  This is a very nice Yiwu Guoyoulin tea.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":34438276907165,"sku":"","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":34438276939933,"sku":"","price":220.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022491.jpg?v=1590558115"},{"product_id":"2020-tian-men-shan","title":"2020 Tian Men Shan GaoGan","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe've had our eyes on tea from this land for a few years, but haven't managed to buy it until this year. The lack of buyers in the mountains this year due to the virus and abnormally late harvest meant we could arrange to hire some people to pick the fresh leaves and a friend of ours processed them. Tianmenshan (天门山）has shot into fame in the past few years due to the perfect forest conditions and the tall GaoGan (tall pole) trees from which this is made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea itself is very pure in taste.  It is elegant, thick and rich with very nice flavour and penetrating aroma.   The energy is very nice - slow and deep.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is excellent tea.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":34438612713629,"sku":"","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":34438612746397,"sku":"","price":240.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022498.jpg?v=1590561060"},{"product_id":"2020-lao-jie-zi-gaogan","title":"2020 Lao Jie Zi GaoGan","description":"\u003cp\u003eLao Jie Zi (老街子）is a piece of land in the protected forest near Yiwu's Zhang Jia Wan village.   It's not so well known, but in recent years it has become difficult to get these leaves and the price has risen accordingly.   The demand has a reason - the tea from this land is very good.   As good, or better than any of the teas from more famous pieces of land in Yiwu that we've tasted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea is pure - very clean and clear in taste, made from the tall pole trees growing in this area of the forest.  It is extremely elegant, merging comfortably with the body and with a pleasant cooling sensation on the breath.  The comparison with the Tian Men Shan and Yao Zhu Di teas we pressed this year is interesting - they each have slight differences in character that make each of them special.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe energy is very comfortable and the feeling of the forest is apparent in the tea.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":34438721667229,"sku":"","price":53.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":34438721699997,"sku":"","price":358.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022505.jpg?v=1592053409"},{"product_id":"90s-loose-leaf-raw-puerh","title":"1990's loose leaf raw puerh","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe haven't had any loose aged puerhs for the past few years \u0026amp; have been looking around to find some nice examples.   Most pre-2000's loose leaf puerh has spent some time in HK.  This was exported to Taiwan and spent some time there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe leaves are large and strong.  In the initial rinse and first couple of infusions there are signs of its HK-stored heritage, but the flavours are clean and the tea liquid still retains a vibrancy, slight edge of underlying bitterness and long steady aftertaste.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor fans of this type of dark, mellow and soothing aged puerh, this is a great choice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":35144420196509,"sku":"90年代散茶-1","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300g","offer_id":35144420229277,"sku":"90年代散茶-2","price":158.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022674-2.jpg?v=1595081493"},{"product_id":"70s-loose-leaf-puerh","title":"1970's loose leaf puerh","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe haven't had any loose aged puerhs for the past few years \u0026amp; have been looking around to find some nice examples.   Like most old loose leaf puerh, this has spent some time in HK.  This was exported to Taiwan and we purchased it from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe leaves are small and fine.  There is a nice aged flavour and the tea is smooth and rich in the mouth.  This type of HK aged shou puerh due to the storage and age brews up a deep and rich and lively tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor fans of this type of dark, mellow and soothing aged puerh, this is a great choice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"15g Sample","offer_id":35144423407773,"sku":"70年代散茶-15g","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100g","offer_id":35144423440541,"sku":"70年代散茶-100g","price":180.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022678.jpg?v=1595081409"},{"product_id":"2020-yao-zhu-di","title":"2020 Yao Zhu Di","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is one of our favourite gardens we've come across in Yiwu's Guoyoulin (protected forest).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trees are old, with many gaogan (tall pole) trees throughout the garden.   The farmer is also very special - he is very patient with the processing, performing the kill-green slowly \u0026amp; hand-rolling with great care.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe didn't manage to pick up the 2020 tea when we visited the farmer this spring - the old trees were sprouting very late this year, but we asked him to save the tea from these trees for us and send it once it was ready.  It's even better than last year's tea - thick and vibrant, with a long steady aftertaste and nice qi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe're very happy with this tea\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":35234545041565,"sku":null,"price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":35234545074333,"sku":null,"price":220.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1022684-2.jpg?v=1595400477"},{"product_id":"2004-cnnp-7542","title":"2004 CNNP 7542","description":"\u003cp\u003e7542 is a recipe created by Menghai Tea Factory, but since then had been imitated by many smaller factories.  Usually these bear little resemblance to the original and we don't bother to pass on this designation, but this tea took us a little by surprise.  Upon rinsing the tea and opening the lid of the gaiwan the aroma was unmistakably that of the Menghai Tea Factory version.  When tasting the tea also the flavours were also very similar.  I'd even venture to say better than many actual 7542 cakes from this period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea has been stored in Guangzhou and has had very clean storage.  The tea is ageing nicely, with long aftertastes, good aroma and very comfortable to drink.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a lovely tea for fans of the Menghai Tea Factory 7542, without the crazy prices that that fetches these days \u0026amp; for fans of aged puerh in general.  This is already very nice to drink and will surely evolve nicely over the years too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25G SAMPLE","offer_id":37078548349085,"sku":"","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"357G","offer_id":37078548414621,"sku":"","price":175.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1023250.jpg?v=1605428109"},{"product_id":"2003-jingmai-old-tree-puerh-kongquan-congyun-tea-factory","title":"2003 Jingmai Old Tree Puerh (Kongquan Congyun Tea Factory)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea was pressed to mark the opening of Kunming Kongquan Congyun Tea Factory in 2003.  It was purportedly made from old trees from Jingmai.  While we can't verify these claims for sure, from tasting it, it seems accurate. There's a strong Jingmai character and the tea shows all the hallmarks of a tea that definitely contains at least a high percentage of old tree material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI first came across this tea in 2008 and bought a couple of cakes at the time for my own collection.   We recently came across it again and were curious to try it after all these years.    This cake has been stored in Kunming and the storage has been very clean.  The aged Jingmai floral\/nutty character shines through, with good body and long aftertaste and pleasant top notes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile we would generally have preferred more humid storage, with cakes of this era we can't always choose \u0026amp; this is a nice opportunity to try cleanly aged Jingmai old tree tea of this era.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":37287036027037,"sku":"","price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"380g cake","offer_id":37287036059805,"sku":"","price":178.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1023300.jpg?v=1607234246"},{"product_id":"2006-tea-horse-tribute-puerh-tea","title":"2006 Tea Horse Tribute Puerh Tea","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt's always a good sign when you drink a tea in the evening and wake up in the morning, still thinking about it and eager to brew it again first thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea is certainly one of these.   Pressed in 2006 to celebrate the Tea Horse Road, it's made of pure old tree tea and it ticks every box.    Nicely aged, strong, concentrated tea.  Clean, aged tobacco flavours (in a nice way), thick mouthfeel and aftertastes that linger for hours.  It's not often that we come across tea like this from this era at a price that is still reasonable.  I can highly recommend this tea\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":37322542973085,"sku":"","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"357g Cake","offer_id":37322543005853,"sku":"","price":228.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1023319.jpg?v=1607566092"},{"product_id":"1990s-special-order-red-mark","title":"1990's Special Order Red Mark","description":"\u003cp\u003eA famous wrapper, and one that has adorned many batches of tea of greatly varying quality.   This particular tea was a production ordered in 1999 from Kunming Tea Factory by a Hong Kong teahouse.   According to our information, it was pressed using maocha that had already been aged for a few years.   The teahouse was unable to buy the whole batch and there was some left in the tea factory until bought in 2007 by a Kunming tea merchant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is true old school puerh - strong, thick flavour, concentrated tea soup that just keeps brewing and brewing.  There's a touch of aged smoke, leather, camphor notes in the flavour and an aftertaste that transforms and lingers nicely in the mouth.  This has been cleanly stored and has become smooth to drink while still packing a healthy punch if pushed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is some small variation in the weights of these cakes, but they tend to be around 340g.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":37574273073309,"sku":"","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"340g cake","offer_id":37574273106077,"sku":"","price":198.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033485.jpg?v=1610422232"},{"product_id":"1999-light-fermentation-shou-puerh","title":"1999 Light Fermentation Shou Puerh","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe've been drinking quite a few aged Kunming tea factory 7581 bricks lately.  There's so much variation in fermentation level, raw material, price and quality.   This one really stuck out for us as something quite special.   According to our information, it was a small production (around 10,000 bricks) pressed in 1999 for export.  As such a higher grade of raw material was used and is quite different from the standard 7581 bricks.  It was stored in Dongguang until around 4 years ago, before the complete batch was bought by a Taiwan tea merchant, and stored there since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea has had light fermentation and it has been nicely aged - the storage has been very clean, and the fermentation flavour is almost all gone.  The tea is bright and vibrant in the mouth, smooth and very pleasant to drink.   This one will appeal to lovers of aged sheng puerh and aged shou puerh alike, and for a tea of this quality it's a bargain at this price.   We can highly recommend this tea.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"250g Brick","offer_id":37590957752477,"sku":"","price":88.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":37590957785245,"sku":"","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1023466-4.jpg?v=1610597094"},{"product_id":"2006-naked-tea-horse","title":"2006 Naked Tea Horse","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis was a small batch by the same producer as our\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/collections\/new-products\/products\/2006-tea-horse-tribute-puerh-tea\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-href=\"https:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/collections\/new-products\/products\/2006-tea-horse-tribute-puerh-tea\"\u003e2006 Tea Horse Tribute puerh tea\u003c\/a\u003e cake.  It was never wrapped and the only information on the cake is from the neifei, which states that the material is from Xishuangbanna and pressed in March 2006 from \"thousand year old trees\".  The last part is written with a bit of poetic license of course.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is an ugly tea.  I almost passed over it when I first saw the cake, thinking that it\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003esuch an unsightly tea wouldn't be very good.  As it turns out, I was quite wrong - this is truly excellent. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFirst - the flaws, since every tea has them.  This was stored in Kunming, and in my opinion was too dry.  The tea hasn't\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003echanged\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eas much as one would hope over this time.  The leaves have darkened and it's definitely lost the greenness of youth, but it hasn't developed so much of the aged flavours we would like.   It's also been processed a little rustically - the rolling is uneven, some leaves rolled tightly, some loosely (hence the ugly appearance). Since they were unwrapped, some of the cakes may have a few leaves missing from the edges.  They tend to average between 350-365g.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWith the ugly and the bad out of the way, now for the good.   I'm confident from tasting this that it's pure ancient tree tea from a single region.   Although the producer doesn't say where his teas are from, it has the character of some of the best of Menghai area tea.  The tea is strong, concentrated, thick \u0026amp; rich.  In the mouth the tea is vibrant and energetic as can be found in some of the best old tree teas.  The aftertaste lingers easily for an hour.  The qi is strong and present.    We would find it difficult to make a tea of this quality these days and, even if we could, I'm sure the price would be much more expensive than this.   This is really a treasure from the past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":37721615138973,"sku":"","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"350g cake","offer_id":37721615171741,"sku":"","price":228.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1034396.jpg?v=1627796126"},{"product_id":"2010-bulang-ancient-tree","title":"2010 Bulang Ancient Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe discovered this in the warehouse of a friend in Kunming who specialises in Bulang area tea.  He pressed this in 2012 from aged maocha and has been storing it since then.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe raw material comes from ancient trees from Manmu, Banpen, Xin Banzhang and Man Xin Long villages and bears all the hallmarks of great Bulang area tea - it's thick, rich, with a balanced bitter note appearing in later steeps and long, steady aftertaste.  There's a slight hint of smoke that is well balanced and not overpowering at all.  The storage has been very clean and the tea has plenty of strength for the long term.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a great tea for those who like the characteristics of the Bulang area, and at a price that we'd struggle to buy and press fresh tea for in 2021.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"357g cake","offer_id":39938741305501,"sku":"","price":198.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":39938741338269,"sku":"","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033795-2.jpg?v=1621137669"},{"product_id":"2012-cloud-watching-ancient-tree","title":"2012 Cloud Watching - Ancient Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea was a private production,  pressed by a friend of ours in Jinghong.  According to him, it's an early Spring production from ancient trees growing in the forest along the China\/Myanmar border, to the east of the Bulang mountain range.  It has been stored cleanly in Jinghong, where the hot and humid weather has allowed this tea to begin to transform nicely. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis area isn't so famous, but there are some really big trees growing there and we've no reason to doubt him on the origin.   In the cup, this also comes through in the tea.  The taste isn't super strong or obvious in the beginning, but it creeps up on you, along with the unusually strong energy of the tea that slowly envelops your body and mind and provided inspiration for the quote from Kathy which gave rise to the name we've given this tea - Cloud Watching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"It just makes me want to sit and do nothing, and look at the sky\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"357g cake","offer_id":40020577288349,"sku":"","price":298.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":40020577321117,"sku":"","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033916.jpg?v=1622689353"},{"product_id":"morsels-ancient-tree-puerh-tea","title":"2021 Morsels Ancient Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe labelled this as 2021 since it was pressed this Spring, but in fact it contains no tea from 2021.  It's a blend we worked on earlier in the year, taking small quantities of high end tea that we'd been storing as maocha from the past few years.  It's all from ancient trees, from Yiwu Guoyoulin gardens, Guafengzhai, Bulang and some other single trees.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's already got a nice, slightly aged character.  The tea is thick, rich and powerful, with a nice bitter edge creeping in from the Bulang trees.   We don't often release blends, but these teas were each very special on their own and we've been really pleasantly surprised how nicely they have worked together in this cake.   It's something that we wouldn't be able to recreate, even if we tried!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":40098181546141,"sku":"","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g cake","offer_id":40098181578909,"sku":"","price":168.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033866.jpg?v=1622605809"},{"product_id":"2021-bai-hua-qing-ancient-tree-puerh-tea","title":"2021 Bai Hua Qing Ancient Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003e Bai Hua Qing is the local pronunciation for the area commonly known as Bai Hua Tan in the market.  It's a small area near Tong Qing He, in an area full of wild flowers in the Spring.  The farmer for this garden is from BuLongHe, a Yao minority village close by.  This area has grown to become quite famous in recent years, though there's a large variation in the quality, purity and price of the tea marketed with this name.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur tea comes from a single small garden deep in the forest.   It takes 3-4 hours hiking each way to reach it from the closest road.  The total quantity of tea from this farmer this Spring was just 40kg.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trees are very old and growing in the shade, producing a very concentrated, rich tea, that's a bit more bitter and astringent than many teas, but has plenty of strength for the long term.   Our experience with these teas is that while we really enjoy drinking them now, they really begin to shine after 3-4 years  and the concentration and strength of the tea carry it through for the long term. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's not particularly a tea that we'd recommend for beginners but for old tea drinkers the strength of the qi, forest taste, depth of character and long, mineral rich aftertaste are really something special in this tea.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":40098804301981,"sku":null,"price":44.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"200g cake","offer_id":40098804334749,"sku":null,"price":310.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033874-2.jpg?v=1622617560"},{"product_id":"2021-youle-gaogan-ancient-tree-puerh-tea","title":"2021 Youle Gaogan Ancient Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eOur first year making tea from Youle - it wasn't really in our plans for this year until we were introduced to someone who'd been collecting this tea for the past 15 years.  Normally he buys the full harvest from these few trees, but agreed to share some of it with us this year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's from gaogan (tall pole trees) growing in the protected forest in Youle mountain.   Youle isn't known for its gaogan trees and he asked us to keep the exact location a secret.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat we can say, is that the tea ticks all the boxes in the cup.  It has a strong forest character,  it's concentrated with thick, long steady aftertaste, good depth and strong energy.  It's not inexpensive, but the quality of the tea was more than enough for us to further stretch our already overstretched finances at the end of the season to buy as much as we could.  We're very happy to have this as part of our offerings this year.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":40099663577245,"sku":"","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":40099663610013,"sku":"","price":248.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033885.jpg?v=1622620801"},{"product_id":"2021-yiwu-queen-of-the-forest-puerh-tea","title":"2021 Yiwu Queen of the Forest","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe don't make many blends, but decided to mix it up a little this year and set out to make a high end Yiwu blend from teas that most people wouldn't dream of blending.   Included in this are 4 gardens, all within different parts of Yiwu Guoyoulin (the protected State Forest).  They're all ancient trees, some gaogan (tall pole trees), and all providing different characters to add to the experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea is multi-layered, with very pleasant evolving aromas and flavours.  It's thick and rich, with very nice comfortable energy. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis for us showcases some of the best that Yiwu has to offer.  Although this is a blend, there's no 'filler' in this tea - each part of it brings its own character to make an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":40099782328477,"sku":"","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":40099782361245,"sku":"","price":240.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1033893-2.jpg?v=1622688892"},{"product_id":"2004-youle-gushu","title":"2004 Youle Gushu","description":"\u003cp\u003eSince pressing our 2021 Youle Gaogan cakes, we've had quite a few enquiries about other Youle material, and have been on the hunt for some nicely aged cakes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese were pressed in 2004 by a tea merchant from Yiwu.  He collected the raw material from Youle mountain and pressed the cakes in Chang Da Hao's tea factory, using their wrappers to wrap the cakes.  This was quite a common practice at the time for small productions.  They were then purchased by a Kunming merchant, who stored them in Kunming until now.   The storage has been clean, although relatively dry.  Ideally we would have preferred it to be stored somewhere more humid than Kunming, but it has aged slowly, but cleanly \u0026amp; it is priced appropriately.   This would be approximately twice the price if stored somewhere more humid like Malaysia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom tasting it, it appears to be pure old tree material and displays all the character one would expect from this type of tea.  It's thick, rich, concentrated, has good depth in the mouth and throat and is very vibrant.  It has a nice energy and a long concentrated aftertaste with reassuring bitter note creeping in.  This has plenty of room still to evolve in years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can recommend this tea.  It's a bargain at this price and even newly made tea of this quality from this area would be much more expensive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"400g cake","offer_id":40841138536605,"sku":"","price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":40841138569373,"sku":"","price":9.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"7 cake tong","offer_id":40841259942045,"sku":"","price":725.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1034496.jpg?v=1630297988"},{"product_id":"2021-earth-old-tree-shu-puerh","title":"2021 \"Earth\" Old Tree Shu Puerh","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe've been wanting to make some shu puerh for a while - the last cake we pressed was in 2010.   We had been looking around for other batches of shu puerh that we could press into cakes, but never found one that met our needs - grown without agrochemicals and with the energy and flavours that we wanted.   Accordingly, we bought and saved maocha in spring 2020 and commissioned a studio in Menghai to ferment this for us in early 2021.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was fermented in a large basket, using spring water to moisten the tea leaves.  We kept the fermentation a bit shorter than usual, to keep the energy and vibrancy in the leaves and to try to produce a tea that was a little closer to the character of aged sheng puerh.  We let the tea rest for 6 months before pressing into 200g cakes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe're very happy with how this tea has turned out.  It's vibrant, warming, smooth and very comfortable to drink....  it's even turning us into shu puerh drinkers!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":41412105240733,"sku":"","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":41412105273501,"sku":"","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1kg (5x200g) Tong","offer_id":41412105306269,"sku":"","price":170.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1044647.jpg?v=1636807069"},{"product_id":"2022-spring-san-jia-zhai-ancient-tree-puerh","title":"2022 Spring San Jia Zhai Ancient Tree Puerh 三家寨","description":"\u003cp\u003eSanjiazhai is a garden in Yiwu Guoyoulin (protected forest), nestled between Wangong, Guafengzhai's Chawangshu and Bai Cha Yuan.   We pressed tea from here first in 2015, sold some and kept some for ourselves.   In the following years, it has become one of our most treasured aged teas - with time it has developed lovely aged notes, good thickness, strong body and aftertaste.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe environment is perfect - growing in the midst of virgin forest, with old trees that at one point suffered in forest fire and have grown back as multiple trunks sprouting from a single thick trunk at ground level.   As with many of the old abandoned gardens in the forest around Yiwu, nobody knows who planted these trees or when.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea is vibrant, rich and uplifting.  It has the elegance of Yiwu, with the strength that is required for an excellent tea, and one that will age into a real treasure in any collection\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":42479240937629,"sku":"2022 春三家寨","price":250.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":42479240970397,"sku":"","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1045271.jpg?v=1655607687"},{"product_id":"2022-spring-yi-wu-ancient-tree-puerh","title":"2022 Spring Yiwu Ancient Tree Puerh 易武古树","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis tea comes from trees growing at the edge of the protected forest near Yiwu's Zhangjiawan village.   The trees are old, grown and cared for without agrochemicals, and in excellent environment, and has nice forest character but without the cost of other teas growing within the protected reserve.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the cup, this tea is lively with floral notes that burst in the mouth and nose,  good body and steady, long aftertaste.  It has the strength and body to age well.   This area of northern Yiwu is a little off the map for the majority of tea buyers who flock to the more hyped villages closer to Yiwu town,  but we love it \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":42479681568925,"sku":"2022 春易武古树","price":138.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":42479681601693,"sku":"2022 春易武古树-2","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1045277.jpg?v=1655610851"},{"product_id":"2022-spring-wu-liang-ancient-tree-puerh","title":"2022 Spring Wuliang Selected Trees Puerh 无量古树","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn previous years, we've pressed the mid-sized trees from this area as \"Bamboo Spring\". Last year, we collected the tea from 12 of the largest trees and offered it as single tree portions to members of our monthly tea club.  \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe trees are huge, standing more than 8m tall, growing just below the small village of a few households.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis year, we've collected these same largest trees, blended them together and pressed them into this limited production teacake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tea tastes rich with a nice pure and clean flavour. It has a lovely honey aroma and good thickness.  The low bitterness and astringency make it easy to appreciate for all tea lovers, while still having enough bite to give it the strength that we crave. This is a really nice tea for daily drinking. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"200g Cakes","offer_id":42479769321629,"sku":"2022 春无量古树","price":42.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":42479769354397,"sku":"2022 春无量古树-2","price":6.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1045288.jpg?v=1655618294"},{"product_id":"2022-spring-san-jia-zhai-single-tree-puerh","title":"2022 Spring San Jia Zhai Single Tree Puerh 三家寨单株","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe processed a few of the largest trees in this tea garden as Single Tree tea.   Since there's only a few kg, we decided to sell it loose as maocha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot much to say - if you want the best of the best, you won't go wrong with this tea.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"30g Sample","offer_id":42479691530397,"sku":"2022 春三家寨单株","price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1045216.jpg?v=1655618744"},{"product_id":"2022-spring-yao-zhu-di-single-tree-puerh","title":"2022 Spring Yao Zhu Di Single Tree Puerh 瑶珠地单株","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe processed a few of the largest trees in this tea garden as Single Tree tea.   Since there's only a few kg, we decided to sell it loose as maocha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eYou may know the tea from this garden from previous year's pressings.   This is just the biggest few trees\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eNot much to say - if you want the best of the best, you won't go wrong with this tea.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"30g Sample","offer_id":42479694610589,"sku":"2022 春瑶珠地单株","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1045224-2.jpg?v=1655619480"},{"product_id":"2009-spring-qian-jia-zhai-raw-puerh-puerh-stored","title":"2009 Spring Qian Jia Zhai Raw Puerh (Puerh Stored)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe're fans of wild ancient tree tea. Even better when it's aged.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese cakes were pressed by a tea merchant from Puerh City and stored there since then.  The cake is made from the early spring harvest from the old wild trees in Qianjiazhai. The wild tea trees in this area are huge - the oldest estimated to be 2700 years old, but with many more in the forest that are estimated to be many hundreds or over a thousand years old. The environment is still very pure \u0026amp; has been protected by the government.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe're very happy to offer this cake. This cake has really clean storage, also it has been aged nicely and is ready to drink anytime. The tea tastes smooth and oily with nice sweet honey and fruit taste. The texture is rich and vibrant with strong body feeling. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNote:  This is not standard Camellia Sinensis vs Assamica, but from wild tea tree varietals that grow in the forest\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"340g","offer_id":42792121991325,"sku":"","price":230.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g","offer_id":42792122024093,"sku":"","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1056216.jpg?v=1661591406"},{"product_id":"2004-man-zhuan-ancient-tree-brick","title":"2004 Smokey Manzhuan Ancient Tree Brick","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis year the economic downturn in China has brought tough times in the tea world.  Many shops and tea companies have closed \u0026amp; others are feeling the squeeze a bit. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile hunting around in Kunming for some aged teas, an old friend of ours who has been in the puerh tea business since the late 90's mentioned that her business isn't great and she's struggling to pay the farmers for all the tea she booked last spring.  As a result, she decided to sell off some batches of tea that she has been storing since her early days in the tea business.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe \u0026amp; her husband collected this maocha from Manzhuan area in 2004, and took the leaves to the one of the early Yiwu pressing studios - \"Chang Da Hao\".   The factory pressed their tea into these bricks for them, but using the factory's neifei (inner ticket) and wrapping.  This was a common practice at the time when smaller tea merchants didn't have their own brands.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere's something special about teas from the 6 Ancient Famous Tea Mountains.   They're famous for a reason.   We've had plenty of Yiwu teas, but many of the others have been a bit lacking in our selection.   \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea has been pressed into ~230g bricks with neifei reading \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \"Chang Da Hao - Yiwu Zheng Shan\", then packaged in sets of 4x230g with bamboo wrapping.  The bamboo wrappers has \"Chang Da Hao - Manzhuan\" stamped on it.  The original bamboo woven baskets have 32kg.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eFrom tasting, this appears to be composed mainly, if not entirely, of ancient tree tea.  The tea tastes really cleanly stored, with nice impressive aged taste, like smokey honey sweetness with the strength of a bitter backbone. The tight compression and clean storage has preserved the character of the tea, unmistakably Manzhuan in character, but nicely aged, without even a hint of greenness of youth.  The texture is thick, rich and smooth, with strong qi and bold flavours.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote:  Since our original release of this tea, and upon drinking it more and more, we've decided to add the \"Smokey\" description in the title.   In this period when the weather was rainy, tea was dried on bamboo trays inside the houses.  This led to some of the tea absorbing some smokey character from the wood fire.   If you like your whisky peaty and your foods smoked, this is the tea for you.   If not, perhaps our \u003ca title=\"2004 Youle Gushu\" href=\"https:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/products\/2004-youle-gushu\"\u003e2004 Youle\u003c\/a\u003e would be a good alternative.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EoT","offers":[{"title":"25g","offer_id":43009382416541,"sku":"2004 蛮砖古树250克砖","price":9.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"230g","offer_id":43009382449309,"sku":"2004 蛮砖古树250克砖-2","price":78.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"920g (4x230g bricks)","offer_id":43009382482077,"sku":"2004 蛮砖古树250克砖-3","price":288.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1056752.jpg?v=1665144600"},{"product_id":"2022-earth-old-tree-shu-puerh","title":"2022 \"Earth\" Old Tree Shu Puerh","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is our second EOT “Earth\" Old Tree Shu Puerh since producing our first batch found here:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/collections\/puerh-tea\/products\/2021-earth-old-tree-shu-puerh\"\u003ehttps:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/collections\/puerh-tea\/products\/2021-earth-old-tree-shu-puerh\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe received such great feedback on this first “Earth\" Old Tree Shu Puerh that we decided to make this cake our regular Shu Puerh cake. These cakes allow us to support our long term relationship with tea farmers in the mountains whose tea we use to produce this nice clean old tree Shu Puerh cake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe used the exact same materials and same formula when making this second “Earth\" batch, and continued using spring water to moisten the tea leaves as well. We worked with the same fermentation manager for this batch, however, he let the tea ferment a bit longer than before, producing more sweet and woody results. There is much energy and vibrancy in the leaves and after resting for more than 12 months now, the wo dui (fermentation) aroma and flavours have faded quite a lot. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe're very happy with how this tea has turned out.  It's vibrant, warming, smooth and very comfortable to drink....  it's even turning us into Shu Puerh drinkers!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":44594783944984,"sku":"","price":6.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":44594783977752,"sku":"","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"1kg (5x200g) Tong","offer_id":44594784010520,"sku":"","price":170.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/products\/L1069757.jpg?v=1676885507"},{"product_id":"2003-thick-paper-qing-bing","title":"2003 Thick Paper Qing Bing","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe've been tasting a lot of samples this year of middle-aged puerh, but only this tea has made the grade so far.   It's hard work finding gems amongst all the rubbish in the market, but when you come across something nice it makes all the work worthwhile.   We found this particular cake from a collector in Shenzhen who we have known for several years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis tea has has a really nice clean Shenzhen storage (good balance of humidity and cleanliness for ageing puerh). It was pressed in 2003 and wrapped in generic CNNP wrapper.  The leaves are strong and seems to contain some old tree material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIt has nice sweet and long steady aftertaste with pleasant hints of tobacco and toffee.   Everything is nicely balanced and it has turned the corner, developing a lovely aged character and clean, concentrated flavours and aromas that linger in the mouth and nose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is a lovely tea \u0026amp; nicely aged.   We can highly recommend it. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"357g cake","offer_id":46290851528984,"sku":"2003 厚纸青饼","price":198.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":46290851561752,"sku":"2003 厚纸青饼-2","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2003_-3.jpg?v=1690276758"},{"product_id":"2023-spring-lao-jie-zi-gao-gan-puerh","title":"2023 Spring Lao Jie Zi Gao Gan Puerh 老街子","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe pressed tea from these trees in 2020 \u0026amp; it was probably our favourite cake from that year.  These are some gaogan (tall pole) trees growing wild in the forest in northern Yiwu.   In year 2020 with increased competition from other buyers in the mountains, we were unable to buy it at a reasonable price. In 2022 thanks in part to Covid - this year things were a little easier again. This year we also managed to buy it at a reasonable price as well.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis tea is pure - very clean and clear in taste.  It is extremely elegant, merging comfortably with the body and with a pleasant cooling sensation on the breath.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe energy is very comfortable and gentle, but really strong and long-lasting, not disturbing at all. The feeling of the forest is apparent in the tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThere are only a few kg of this tea, from several single huge trees dotted around this forest area.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":46550909419800,"sku":null,"price":358.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":46550909485336,"sku":null,"price":53.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2023_de59fbaf-08ad-4bd3-9a90-578bb40ff361.jpg?v=1693211695"},{"product_id":"2023-spring-15-years-anniversary-ancient-tree-puerh","title":"2023 Spring 15 Years Anniversary Ancient Tree Puerh 十五年纪念饼","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWe began our tea business in 2008, visiting Nannuo, Yiwu and Lao Banzhang, pressing some small productions and finding our feet in the tea world. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe decided that it might be nice to make a special production to mark our 15 year anniversary, with a blend that we’d been playing about with over the past few years. We have decided not to reveal the contents of the blend, but I think it’s fair to say that it’s one of the favourite teas that we have pressed so far.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt ticks all the boxes - strong, elegant, uplifting, strength to age over the years, lovely to drink now. The tea dances in the mouth, changing quickly with a hint of bitterness melting into a long, sweet cooling aftertaste with mouth-watering sensations and vibrant energy. We can highly recommend this tea.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":46551132012824,"sku":"2023- 15年纪念饼","price":165.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":46551132045592,"sku":"2023- 15年纪念饼-2","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2023_-3_1fb31d4e-420f-46fe-84ba-1b8dc54c614a.jpg?v=1693385358"},{"product_id":"2023-spring-tang-li-lin-ancient-tree-puerh","title":"2023 Spring Tang Li Lin Ancient Tree Puerh 棠梨林","description":"\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is a new tea for us this Spring - an Yiwu garden located in the protected forest (Guoyoulin) near Ding Jia Zhai and Xiang Cun Lin. The trees are old and grown entirely without pesticides or fertilisers. The tea is thick in the mouth, smooth and refined with cooling aftertaste and nice forest character.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is a nice tea, and very good value for money - it’s not a famous location, but the tea is good and well processed. This is a good quality Yiwu tea at a price that is still accessible.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"200g Cake","offer_id":46552892080408,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g Sample","offer_id":46552892113176,"sku":null,"price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2023_01db5ed3-0358-4218-9943-0a8191501a63.jpg?v=1693232470"},{"product_id":"2023-spring-secret-forest-wild-puerh","title":"2023 Spring Secret Forest Wild Puerh 原野普洱","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the same huge wild \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e(non-camellia sinensis var assamica)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etrees as our\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/collections\/other-teas\/products\/2019-secret-forest-white\" title=\"Secret Forest White Tea\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSecret Forest White tea\u003c\/a\u003e, this one is processed with the kill-green and sun-drying steps and made into puerh.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe taste is initially light, but grows with the infusions.  It's very refined and complex.  The energy of these ancient trees and forest environment is obvious and very strong and comfortable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe aftertaste is very pleasant...   what began in the first couple of infusions as a subtle tea, ends the session coating the mouth and throat and lingering nicely.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"25g SAMPLE","offer_id":46559252676888,"sku":null,"price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"200g cake","offer_id":46559252709656,"sku":null,"price":78.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2023_f59d39e6-92fe-4ddf-8fb4-23c76afc19c9.jpg?v=1693279013"},{"product_id":"2023-spring-wuliang-wild-puerh","title":"2023 Spring Wuliang Wild Puerh 无量野生","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe really like the character of the ancient wild \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e(non-camellia sinensis var assamica)\u003c\/span\u003e trees in this area of Wuliang mountains \u0026amp; early this year we commissioned a farmer to oversee the picking of this tea and for him to process the fresh leaves.    These ancient wild trees only flush once a year \u0026amp; their energy is concentrated in their spring leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe character of wild tea is different from cultivated tea - with a flavour that seems light at first taste but swells up in in body and taste throughout the infusions.  The qi is very deep, also beginning in a subtle manner but creeping up as you drink it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a very nice wild tea.  It's clean, smooth and powerful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNote:  This is not standard Camellia Sinensis vs Assamica, but from wild tea tree varietals that grow in the forest\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"essenceoftea","offers":[{"title":"400g cake","offer_id":46559927533848,"sku":null,"price":79.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"25g sample","offer_id":46559927566616,"sku":null,"price":6.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2023_f88e17c4-b235-4ae4-9c58-d3581b19faf5.jpg?v=1693280853"},{"product_id":"2023-breakfast-for-meditators-mini-puerh-cake","title":"2023 Breakfast For Meditators Mini Puerh Cake","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003eWe have spent much time working to find just the right sheng puerh to blend with our \"Earth\" Big Tree Shu Puerh. After several iterations we developed this recipe, which we find to be quite successful in its balance of flavour and body sensation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe sheng puerh’s vibrant energy lifts the tea up with its refreshing and lovely honey aroma, while the shu puerh is warming, grounding, and balancing - offering woody, earthy, and also slightly creamy and fruity tasting notes. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt’s a really interesting and comfortable combination. It’s balanced, smooth, gently uplifting and very soothing. A nice start for the day.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eIt has been a firm favourite in our daily tea drinking - a tea we like to enjoy first thing in the morning before a meditation session or even to brew in a thermos casually on the go. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eWe’ve pressed this in 7g discs, easy to break into half - you can throw a whole disc in a bigger pot, or even half a disc in a mug and brew, adding more boiling water as required.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThis tea needs one or two brews to bring the flavour out, as it has been compressed tightly. This tea is chemical and pesticide free.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"14g","offer_id":46930957795608,"sku":"2023年 玲珑饼（生熟配）-1","price":3.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"49g","offer_id":46930957828376,"sku":"2023年 玲珑饼（生熟配）-2","price":9.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"196g","offer_id":46930957861144,"sku":"2023年 玲珑饼（生熟配）-3","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"490g","offer_id":46930957893912,"sku":"2023年 玲珑饼（生熟配）-4","price":84.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/14_f7609faa-78f4-42fd-9115-d78c59fef41b.jpg?v=1696240732"},{"product_id":"2005-yiwu-ancient-tree-puerh-tea","title":"2005 Yiwu Ancient Tree Dragon Balls","description":"\u003cp\u003eAged Yiwu tea of this quality is difficult to find still available for sale these days.   The producer had been making a larger batch, pressed into melon shapes for a commission, but liked the quality of this ancient tree material and pressed 11kg into these 7g dragon balls to hold back for his own consumption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tea is concentrated, thick, with long aftertaste and powerful energy.  The tea has been aged nicely and the raw material is really excellent.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese have been stored in Kunming, which is drier than we'd normally prefer, but the round shape with greater surface area has allowed them to age well.  Actually the tea has aged nicely in this weather.   The flavour is pure and precise with nicely aged notes developing and plenty of strength for the long term.   The aftertaste lingers nicely.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"Four Balls (~26g)","offer_id":47905365229848,"sku":"2005 易武龙珠-1","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"40 Balls (~260g)","offer_id":47905365262616,"sku":"2005 易武龙珠-2","price":189.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2005_-3.jpg?v=1710749555"},{"product_id":"2006-bing-dao-lao-zhai-ancient-tree-puerh","title":"2006 Bingdao Lao Zhai Ancient Tree Puerh","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis tea was a small production by one of our good tea friends in Kunming. He has been in business since the 90's and in the puerh boom in the mid-2000's was making large quantities of ancient tree teas. As a tea lover, he always kept some special small batches back. Unfortunately some recent hard times \u0026amp; the economic downturn in China have forced him to part with his treasures. Fortunately, for tea lovers like us though, it means that we now have access to these special teas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis tea was made in 2006 spring from pure ancient trees in Bingdao Old village.  At that time, the village had not yet become so famous but a few producers were noticing that this area's teas had a special quality.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHe pressed this into 500g cakes, and sent a portion to age in a friend's more humid storage in Malaysia.  The rest he kept in Kunming.    The first 4 tongs we have of this tea are of the batch he aged in Malaysia, which has aged very nicely - transforming much more than the Kunming stored teas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe tea taste is pure, clean and the liquid is super refined and smooth.  The hints of remaining bitterness change quickly into sweetness with a nice menthol cooling sensation in the mouth afterwards.   It has comfortable and strong body-sensation and qi.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAs one would expect with tea from such a famous village from this period, it's not inexpensive, but we felt it worthwhile to offer for those seeking such special teas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"10g","offer_id":47905577435416,"sku":"2006 冰岛古树-1","price":31.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100g","offer_id":47905577468184,"sku":"2006 冰岛古树-2","price":298.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"cake (~500g)","offer_id":47905607745816,"sku":"","price":1458.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2006_f3d91fe3-fed2-45d0-b288-9572f486c90d.jpg?v=1710751350"},{"product_id":"2017-yiwu-daqishu-ancient-tree-puerh-tea","title":"2017 Spring Yiwu Daqishu Village Ancient Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis cake comes from a farmer we've worked with over the past decade in DaQiShu village in the Yiwu region.  DaQiShu is close to Mahei, to the north-east of Yiwu town.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe normally buy this farmer's tea from his trees in SanJiaZhai area, that's located in the protected forest, but he also has a plot of ancient trees growing between Mahei and Daqishu villages.   Like most of the trees growing closer to the villages around Yiwu, these trees were cut short in the 1980's following local government regulations, but the thick trunks are still visible, with shoots growing from the thick trunk.  The trees are healthy and strong.  He has never used agrochemicals on this land and he is meticulous about his processing.  We've included some photos that we took in 2018 when we visited this garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese cakes are the pure spring harvest from those trees.     He pressed these cakes after harvest and and stored them himself since then.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe storage is clean, with honey aroma and flavours.  It is rich, oily and refined, with good body and smooth to drink.  The nice ageing has produced a more sweet aftertaste with bitterness and astringency emerging only when pushed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a very nice, pure ancient tree Yiwu cake that will continue to transform with age and is lovely to drink now.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Essence of Tea","offers":[{"title":"25g","offer_id":48363776508184,"sku":"2017 大漆树家边古树-1","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200g","offer_id":48363776540952,"sku":"2017 大漆树家边古树-2","price":108.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0006\/9186\/3604\/files\/2017_-3_1963207d-2d19-4e1b-8807-60783a010558.jpg?v=1714447349"}],"url":"https:\/\/essenceoftea.com\/collections\/puerh-tea.oembed?page=4","provider":"The Essence of Tea","version":"1.0","type":"link"}