Moychay.nl sent me a box of samples a while back, and I never got around to properly tasting the teas. Life got in the way, but it’s slowly getting back to normal so I am making more time for tea again. Today’s tea is their 2019 Lancang shu cha.

2019 Lancang Shu Cha

As is the case with all puerh tea, it comes from Yunnan province. Lancang County to be precise. This area is located at an altitude of around 1600m.

The leaves were harvested in spring (between March 20 and May 30), and the picking consists of one bud and three leaves. All of this sounds promising, so it’s time to start brewing…

Tea tasting

The aroma of the wet leaves is leather with something sweet. The dry leaves look great and they are pretty big, at least for shu puerh. Most shu puerh consists of smaller leaves, as they are damaged during the wet-piling process.

Infusion 1 (20s): The liquor is light with a relatively thin body. A gentle sweetness appears in the aftertaste rather than during the infusion itself.

Infusion 2 (25s): The body increases, and the liquor feels noticeably thicker. The aftertaste develops a slightly bitter edge, though the sweetness remains warming.

Infusion 3 (30s): Little change from the previous infusion. The tea remains subtle overall, with a faint sweetness present once again.

Infusion 4 (45s): I extended the infusion to explore the tea’s potential further. While the dry leaves are intriguing, the brew itself feels somewhat disappointing. This is my first session with this tea, which may explain the result, but the character remains largely unchanged from earlier infusions.

Infusion 5 (60s): The liquor is smooth and thick, yet still lacks complexity.

Conclusion

I felt a bit disappointed by this tea, especially when brewing it gong fu. There wasn’t much complexity that could evolve and take you on a journey.

However, the sweetness was enjoyable and I think this tea works really well as a daily drinker in a larger mug during breakfast. I still have some leaves left, so that is something I am going to do in a couple of days, when the weekend is over and I have to get back to work.

If you want to try this tea, you can do so over here.