2005 Premium Jingmai Golden Pu-erh

High quality Pu-erh leaf blend from Jingmai has been used to produce this special and flavorful loose leaf Pu-erh, also known as “Imperial Golden Pu-erh” and “Ancient Pu-erh Wang”. Despite all the marketing hype, this is no recent invention. Golden Pu-erh is produced in a similiar manner as other loose leaf fermented Pu-erhs. The leaves are fermented about twice as long as normal fermented Pu-erh (120 days versus 60 days). What is interesting is that during this longer fermentation process more of the mass of the leaf is consumed by bacteria. If starting out with a total of 400 kilos of leaves, at the end of the fermentation process (120 days) only 300 kilos will remain. The other difference is that during fermentation process the leaves are kept in cloth bags which hold relatively small amounts, rather than kept spread out on the ground (knee deep). It is for this reason that Golden Pu-erh is a bit pricier. More time consuming, more work, and less yield. Why all the trouble then? The trouble is worth because the flavor is nice and smooth, while at the same time not lacking in depth. Some say it tastes a bit like a nice aged fermeneted Pu-erh. You can infuse it many many times (nai pao) and it ages well too.