origin Menghai, Yunnan

craft shou (fermented) & pressed

flavor notes earthy, chocolatemint, malty

origin Menghai, Yunnan

craft shou (fermented) & pressed

flavor notes earthy, chocolatemint, malty

Our Emperor Pu-erh Cake is comprised of small hand-picked young leaves and buds, gathered in Spring of 2008 from Menghai County in Xishuangbanna, the lush tea growing region of Yunnan, China. Its a region rich in history and in the unique environmental factors ideal for cultivating good quality pu-erh.

Crafted in a shou, or “cooked” style, these leaves were withered, twisted, and finally roasted to create the “mao cha” or base green stage of a pu-erh, before being heaped together to undergo an accelerated fermentation process. In this way, the pu-erh can be ready to drink in as little as a year, while natural fermentation through aging can take more than 10 years to create the rich, dark flavors pu-erhs are known for.

This style of crafting imparts a mellow, rich character to the flavor of this pu-erh. We fell in love with the crisp, marzipan finish of this tea on our 2016 sourcing trip, and commissioned it to be pressed into these perfectly portable 100 gram cakes this year.

Heavily aged or fermented teas like this are incredibly easy to brew, since they tend to have very little bitterness or astringency regardless of water temperature. We recommend starting with the instructions above, and then adjusting to your preference.

This Pu-erh is presented in the traditional compressed cake form. To brew, you’ll first need to break a portion of tea off of the cake. Learn how to use a tea cake by watching the video on this page.

Learn the fundamentals of tea brewing and master your technique here.