Young Sheng Pu-erh (生普洱)
archetype: Mountain stream
A mountain stream from a cliff: a sharp, transparent strength, a wild bitterness, a long sweet return.
History
Sheng puer — 'raw puer' — is the only tea that traditionally ages for decades and changes through time, like wine. The leaf of the large-leaf Yunnanese cultivar (assamica) is heavily fixed, kneaded, sun-dried and pressed into discs ('bing cha', 357 g) or other shapes. Young sheng (1–5 years) is bitter, transparent, powerful; with age the bitterness fades and camphor, wood and dried fruit appear. Young sheng is a 'tea of choice': drunk either by those who want a shake-up, or by collectors laying down material for years.
Terroir
The best gardens are old 'lin gushu', trees over 100 years old, giving a complex profile and a strong hui gan (returning sweetness).
Leaf
wild honey, dried fruit, mountain stone, tobacco, a strong hui gan (returning sweetness) very long; the returning sweetness lasts 20–40 minutes — the higher the grade, the longer
Properties
rich in catechins and caffeine; powerful tonic; young sheng aids fat metabolism and digestion, but not for a sensitive nervous system powerful, transparent, ascending; felt as 'a stream through the body' high (50–70 mg)
Brewing ritual
a white 110 ml gaiwan — to see the colour; 100 °C; 6 g / 110 ml. 5s — the first strike: wild honey, a light bitterness; 6s — the peak of strength: mountain stone, tobacco; 8s — the bitterness opens, the returning sweetness begins; 12s — hui gan — a returning sweetness in the throat; 18s — a long sweet tail; 30s — a late note: thin, clean, transparent; 50s — the finale — a cold stream in the throat.
When to drink
day — not evening, or it disturbs sleep. spring and summer — when transparent clarity is needed. for a shake-up, for a long task, when one needs to pass through something bitter