Cultivar: Puerh Buds and Small Leaves (also known as Gong Ting puerh, imperial grade)

Harvested: Early 2000s

Origin: Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China

Process: fermented, aged in loose shape.

The 3 testing pictures show 2.5 gr of dry leaves and the 6 minute brew in a white porcelain competition set. The goal of this brew isn't to get the best brew, but to ascertain the quality of the leaves through an extreme brew.

1. View

The dry loose leaves contain a high quantity of reddish buds and small leaves, the highest grade of cooked puerh leaves. The colors are similar, because it's cooked, shu puerh and all leaves undergo the fermentation process. The brew is very dark, but it has a clean and shiny dark color. The open leaves look like burnt, which is the mark of shu puerh, but they also confirm the high proportion of buds.

2. Scents

The dry loose leaves have sweet and earthy scents. The brew's fragrance is amazingly simple, pure and earthy.

3. Taste

It's the same for the taste. It's very pure (clean) and sweet. These are qualities one seldom finds in a shu puerh. Its natural sweetness makes it very delicious to drink.

Conclusion: This loose cooked imperial grade puerh is as good as it gets for a cooked puerh. Especially, it has none of the off scents or tastes that shu puerhs often have. It's only available in limited supply.