This wonderful loose leaf shou Pu-erh is one of our favorites. It is what we often taste in our Pu-erh class as representing excellence in loose leaf Pu-erh manufacture.
Since we first tasted this years ago it has been a tea that we seek whenever it is available and it simply does not fail us. This manufacture of Black River Mountain Pu-erh has recently been approved for EU Organic Certification – a very difficult certification to qualify for.
You will find that this tea has a deep, full flavor – reminiscent in fact of a quality, several-year-old sheng Pu-erh: pungent but not edgy. The color is the first clue that there is a treat in the cup – it is deep brown/black and almost opaque. The aroma rises from the liquor and envelopes your palate with the positive earthiness that only a well-made shou Pu-erh can develop. This tea tastes of the years of qi that these leaves have absorbed.
In China tea enthusiasts refer to this unique flavor of Pu-erh as ‘dui wei’ and it can be positive or negative. In the case of our Black River Mountain Pu-erh, its bountiful, controlled dui wei is one of its greatest attributes – this tea sings from the cup in a deep baritone, coaxing you to drink more, but not in excess.
Black River Mountain is in the southeast corner of Yunnan Province, a very remote region near to the border with Vietnam