Country of Origin: Yunnan, China Leaf Appearance: compressed, varied greens with some downy buds Steep time: 5 seconds (increased by 5 seconds each brew) Water Temperature: 200 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: deep gold Out of all of the samples that I received from Bitterleaf Teas, this tea was probably the one that I looked forward to the most. Dry aged sheng? ✔ Tea that’s been stuffed into something? ✔ Intriguing and catchy name? ✔ While drinking this tea I couldn’t help but think about the fact that it was harvested just after I graduated from high school. I’m still a pseudo-millennial so I won’t complain about being old. I just wish…

Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: loosely compressed Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 15 seconds Water Temperature: 212 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: pale gold Jing Mai is one of my favorite puerh growing regions but this is the first tea from there that I’ve written about in almost a year. So much tea, such little time! The 2016 Year of the Monkey, also from +Bitterleaf Teas, was one of my favorite shengs in recent memory so I was really looking forward to diving into this one. Life has been a bit crazy lately so I don’t have time to gongfu tea as often as I might like to. The one upside…

Country of Origin: China Leaf Appearance: varied greens and browns, somewhat tightly compressed Ingredients: puerh tea Steep time: 5 seconds (increasing by 5 seconds with each infusion) Water Temperature: 200 degrees Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan Liquor: gold When Bitterleaf Teas first burst onto the scene, I definitely remember them turning heads with the unusual artwork on the wrapper for this tea. A monkey smoking a cigarette is a unique way of celebrating the Year of the Monkey but then, I think anything featuring the art of Kelly Puissegur would be. As per usual, they had me at Yiwu. My generously sized sample had been broken off  from the cake but was still fairly…