The beauty of raw puerh is that it's a tea that keeps on changing and improving with time, just like a fine wine or whisky. This is a unique opportunity to experience 70 years of aging!

Cultivar: Gushu (old arbor) Puerh

Harvested: 1950s

Origin: Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China

Process: raw, sun dried, pressed. These leaves fell off from aged cakes stored in Hong Kong and were collected in loose fashion. Then they were stored in Taiwan.

The first pictures show 2 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 flat and often broken shape of the dry leaves is proof that they were once pressed into cakes. The color of the brew is dark brown-red. Great transparency. The brewed leaves open up slowly and their color lightens up.

2. Scents

3. Taste

Calm, deep, sweet. No bitterness despite the extreme brewing parameter. Very pleasant aftertaste.

Price: The reference price for a puerh cake of the 1950s is 100,000 USD in auctions in Hong Kong and China. On a gram basis, this means about 285 USD with the drawback that you have to purchase a full cake. With loose puerh, you have more flexibility in the amount you purchase AND the price is at a considerable discount!