Menghai Ripe Pu-erh

The ripe pu-erh tea producers tend to use low quality material in their blends in order to keep the costs down. Fermenting tea leads to a loss of 20-30% of the material due to microbial activity, it is a risky enterprise and most of the ripe pu-erh market is turned towards the mass consumption. Liu Yang has been working on tea fermentation for other ten years and caters to the high-end market.

This tea carries the original Menghai taste, which is often lost through the fermentation process. Liu Yang selected early spring material from natural tea gardens in Pasha and Hekai to make this tea. It was fermented in a fairly small batch (less than 300kg) in 2020.

The result is stunning, we are very picky about ripe pu-erh because most of them are boring. This one has plenty to say, it features a light bitterness which makes the mouthfeel lively. You can feel the effect of the tea on the gums, just like in good raw pu-erh. The soup is thick, you can almost chew through it, like a good Belgian beer. You can brew it for over fifteen infusions and you'll get a good buzz throughout the session. If you want a premium ripe pu-erh representative of the Menghai terroir, this is it.