Organic Old Bush Gong Ting Shou Pu erh

Estate Name: Wa Kan Shan
Farming Methods: Organic, hand picked
Production Methods:  Plucking – Frying – Rolling – Sunlight drying – Pile fermentation – Sorting – Grading – Compressing

Other Notes:

This organic tea garden is situated at Wa Kan Shan in Simao, South Yunnan. The tea garden was built in early 1960s using tea local seeds. The cultivar in this tea garden is Qun Ti Zhong (Mixed cultivars) Yunnan Big Leaf Tea. The mixed local cultivars preserve the rich gene source of tea, which not only makes the tea quality from this tea garden very rich in taste, but also causes the tea plants to be very resilient and resistance to damage by pests and plant disease. The local indigenous Wa people manage and operate this tea garden in an ecologically sound way with fully organic farming practices. It has been a certified organic tea garden since 2012. The altitude of the tea garden is around 1600m. The tea trees are over 60 years old and are classified as old bush trees. It is the ideal tea garden and environment for producing good quality teas

Gong Ting means “Palace grade”. However different grading is done by different factories and therefore the standards of Gong Ting vary considerably. Generall the tea body of Gong Ting is a little smaller than regular pu erh. The most critical factor in deciding on the quality of a shou (ripe/cooked) pu erh tea is the pile fermentation. Good fermentation produces a pleasant dry Chinese jujube and sometimes a sweet date flavor, instead of the common earthy and somewhat mold-like aroma and taste. The factory we work with is one of the leading factories in processing of shou pu erh, with more than 30 years experience.

Springtime in Yunnan is always sunny and dry.

There are a lot of chickens living throughout the tea garden area. They not only eat the insects on the tea trees, but also dig the ground to find more insects underground, which in turn helps to eliminate the grass and weeds in the tea garden giving the bushes more room to grow – true organic and natural farming in action!.

This is the ground dug by the chickens.

The skilful Wa people harvesting the tea leaves.

Dry Leaf
Color: Golden brown
Shape/size: Loose leaf, curly

Brewed Tea
Color: Dark red
Aroma: Lingering sweet date flavor
Body Taste: Pure smooth mellow

Suggested Brewing (adjust according to personal preferences)
Water Temperature: 95-100°C/203-212°F
Amount: 3g per 150ml teacup
Steeping Time: 3 minutes
# of Infusions: 3-4 infusions