In a land of coffee drinkers, how happy was I to come across a newly created Meetup group – Helsinki Tea Tasting. Last Sunday I joined four other tea enthusiasts for some Sheng Pu’er tea tasting kindly hosted by Tarmo. We tasted four from his Sheng Pu’er collection before I reached my tea drunk limit.
First up was a 2013 wild tea from Bu Lang Shan (Bu Lang mountains). Bu Lang Shan is a tea growing area in the southwest of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan. It’s right on the border with Burma and home to the Bu Lang minority group. This was my favourite of the four. We tried four brewings, the second brew was the peak with a beautiful apricot flavour.
Next we tried Tarmo’s first ever pu’er cake which a friend gave to him in 2012, and which seems to have set him off on a lifelong love affair with Sheng Pu’er! This was a very different taste and what I expected from a pu’er – earthy, hint of tree bark, but with a sweet honey aroma in the cup.
The third tea was from 2007 and harvested from ancient tea trees. Tarmo picked this one up during his travels in Taipei, Taiwan at Wistaria teahouse. This one was on the smoky side with notes of tobacco.
The final tea I tasted was Tarmo’s go-to pu’er, hence not so much of this one left! It’s a 2006 from Mannuo, Xishuangbanna, again picked from ancient tea trees. And I could taste why this is a favourite. Very smooth and mellow with beautiful plum notes.
Looking forward to more tea tastings!