Shu puer "Dark Side of the Moon", Menghai, Tea Mail, press 2025, 200g.
An excellent, truly excellent pu-erh. Once you try it strong, it becomes hard to drink anything else. A perfect balance of taste, visual beauty, uplifting effect, and a delicate, full-bodied flavor.
We selected the raw material for this tea with great care. We ultimately settled on shu pu-erhs from Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. The tea history of this region goes back thousands of years, and the oldest tea trees are more than 1,700 years old.
The dry leaf has an attractive appearance with aromas of dried fruits and nuts. There is still a faint trace of dui wei (pile fermentation aroma), but it will soon fade, as it did in its predecessor. The infusion is deep, with a dark ruby hue.
The taste is soft and smooth, with a velvety sweetness of walnut, prunes, and a touch of vanilla. In the background, there is a woody bitterness. The tea has a noticeable effect, but without excess — plenty of energy, a focused mind and vision, and a strong desire to act.
It is not demanding in brewing: it can withstand boiling water, long steeping, and even over-dosing. However, it is best enjoyed moderately strong (about 12–13 g per 150 ml gaiwan) with slightly cooled water at around 93–95°C. It is best consumed in the first half of the day, as it provides a powerful boost of energy.
