Lao Cha Tou (老茶頭)
archetype: Roots of the world
The packed roots of the world: fermented clumps of shu puer give the deepest earth and the longest tea-sitting.
History
Lao Cha Tou — 'old tea heads' — are the natural clumps that form during the fermentation of shu puer. As the wet pile ('wo dui') ferments, the master turns it every few days. Part of the leaf sticks together into dense lumps from the pectins and sugars released in fermentation — these are the 'cha tou'. They used to be discarded; in the 2000s they were reappraised: cha tou give up their flavour slowly, yield a very dense and sweet brew and hold many infusions.
Terroir
The standard is cha tou from the wo dui of the Menghai factory. The older the lumps (after 5+ years' ageing), the deeper and sweeter the profile.
Leaf
dark wood, prune, dried mushrooms, warm earth, a very dense brew very long, dense; the aftertaste — 'the settling of time' in the belly
Properties
rich in fermentation products (including statins) and natural sugars; helps fat metabolism, beneficial after a heavy meal dense, descending, warm; felt as 'a heavy palm on the belly' low (15–30 mg)
Brewing ritual
a 150 ml clay kettle — the lumps give up their taste slowly; 100 °C; 8 g / 150 ml. 15s — the first dense sip: wood, black earth; 18s — the peak: prune, dried mushrooms; 22s — a deep warm earth; 30s — a long dense trail; 45s — a very slow echo; 70s — a late depth; 120s — the finale may be boiled — the roots do not give in.
When to drink
day and evening. autumn and winter. for long teas, when one does not count the time, after a heavy meal