Pu’er tea is a kind of healthy beverage, which can keep the stomach fit and warm it, can help us reduce fat and lose weight, and can refresh brain. According to different processes, it can be classified into fresh tea and cooked tea. It can be shaped like the cake, bowl and brick. Thus in this way, Palace Pu’er Tea belongs to the uncompressed and cooked loose tea. The name “Palace” has represented the high level of this kind of tea. As for the quality, it counts as one of the best of all the loose teas. The source land, Mengku, is the hometown of pu’er tea and provides the world with high-quality pu’er tea. With TeaVivre’s recommendation, this Palace Pu’er Tea produced in 2007 will not let pu’er tea lovers down.
Original Place of this Palace Pu-erh Tea - Mengku
One kind of great pu-erh tea needs one great source land of tea leaves, and Mengku is just the one. As one of the main tea-producing county in Yunnan, it is located in the north of Shuangjiang and is subordinate to Lincang tea-producing area (Lin means approaching to; Cang means Lancang River; Lincang got its name from approaching to Lancang River). Close to the Tropic of Cancer, it is the source land of national sexual fine-breed Mengku large-leaved tea and belongs to subtropical three-dimensional climate.
There are almost 667 hectares of wild tea tree group in the virgin forest of Mengku Great Snowy Mountains at an altitude of 3228 meters (longitude 99°46’degrees east—latitude 23°42’ degrees north) . At most, the tea trees can be 22 meters high, and the root can be 3.25 meters thick. Most of them are 2500- 3000 years old. The wild tea group is the largest one with the highest elevation in China. It is very rare to discover such a large ancient tea tree group in the history of tea leaves’ development, which further proves that Mengku is one of the source land of tea trees in the world and the active gene pool of biological diversity.
Brief Health Info
Pu-erh tea has been touted for many years as a great weight loss tea because of its ability to help us burn fat and shed pounds, as well as having a deliciously mellow and deeply earthy flavor.
Pu erh has a mild, gentle nature to it, and so is great to drink if you have a delicate stomach or trouble drinking other teas. People in south western China usually drink this tea during meals, to help with digestion.
Of course, like the health benefits of all tea , it contains antioxidants!
About Mengku Large-leaf Species
Let us have a look at the composition of Mengku Large-leaf tea.
| Moisture content |
10% |
Aminoacid quantum |
2.96% |
| Tea polyphenols quantum |
35.11% |
Caffeinum |
5.06% |
| Catechin |
139.85mg/g |
Soluble carbohydrates |
4.24% |
| Theaflavin |
0.1763% |
Water extraction |
45.13% |
| Theabrownin |
3.94% |
Total ash admeasurement |
3.99% |
Mengku Large-leaf Species is also called Big Black Tea. It is planted in Mengku and belonging to Large-leaf tea tree. Originally produced in Mengku, Shuangjiang, Lincang, it was judged as No. 12 Chinese Tea in 1984.
Ripened Pu-erh Tea and microorganisms
Pile fermentation is an indispensable step in the process of Ripened Pu-erh Tea and is also the essence of Ripened Pu-erh Tea. Pile fermentation refers to the process of piling up the sunlight-dried primary tea to a certain height, watering, covering it by hessians, fermenting around 24 hours in the wet and warm environment.
From the microcosmic perspective, there are such main microorganisms in the mysterious process of pu er tea’s pile fermentation: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus gloucus, Saccharomyces, and Bacterium.
Aspergillus niger has laid a solid material foundation for the enhancement of the beverage’s fragrance and the quality of stickiness and smoothness, richness and mellowness. Rhizopus also can help puerh tea be sticky and smooth, rich and mellow.
In the process of pu erh tea pile fermentation, the heat-moisture effect has created a good environment for the metabolic activity of Saccharomyces. The quality of stale flavor, mellowness, sweetness and smoothness presented by pu’er tea is inseparable with the microbes in the process of fermentation.
Researchers in Yunnan Normal University once did this experiment as follow. Firstly, they took 1 gram tea sample from fresh-leaf tea, deactivated tea, rolled tea, sunlight-dried tea and pile-fermented tea. Then they tested the change of microbes in quantity in the process of pu-er tea pile fermentation.
The most important things decide the Puerh quality:
1 Place: The high quality Puerh should use the Yunan Large-leaf variety. The main traditional Puerh production areas are Xishuangbanna, Pu’er (Simao), Lincang and Baoshan. The tea from different area has different characteristic. And each place also has their own representative places, for example, the representative places in Lingcang are: Fengqing and Mengku.
2 The quality of tea tress: Although all the Puerh tea trees are Yunnan Large-leaf tea trees variety, this variety also has many subcategories. There are many ways to distinguish the tea trees. In order to understand easily, we can judge the quality by the age of the trees. The older the tea tree is, the deeper the root is, so it can absorb more nutrient and mineral substance which can ensure the high quality of the tea. Generally speaking, the 60 years old tea tree (also called big tea tree 大树茶) is better than the 30 years old tea tree (also called arbor tea tree 乔木茶) which is better than 10 years old or less than 10 years old tea tree (also called tableland tea tree 台地茶). Of course, there are also some tea trees more than hundred years old which is quite rare.
3 Plucking time: Moistened by abundant rainwater in spring, the fresh tea leaves are used to make sunlight-dried primary tea, which is rather good for the production of high-quality pu’er tea.
4 The grade of tea leaves: The thick branches and big leaves don’t mean it is bad quality. Usually the grade only means the tenderness of the maocha. It can be divided into ten grades by the tenderness. The super grade is the most tender which contains tiny buds with golden tips. The worst is the tenth grade which contains big leaves with stalk. The appearance of higher grade maocha is elegant and the also contains more inclusions. But the higher grade also has bitter taste. The lower grade taste roughly and clearly, and also contains much fragrant which make the tea rich taste. So it is better to choose puerh by the taste you like but not only focus on the grade.
5 Storage time: Under the condition of dry storage, the taste changes with the length of time it stored; the longer it stored, the better it tastes. With fine Pu-erh tea, the longer it is stored and aged, as long as it is stored properly, the more complex the flavor and the more valuable the tea gets. But it need to note that it is under the condition of good place, tea tree and proper picking time, it can’t be only emphasis the storage time but ignore the tea inner quality.
Additionally, compare with Ripe Puerh, the Raw Puerh doesn’t have the wet piling process so it should be more focus on the tea resource quality.
Gaiwan 3oz
Tea: 5g
11steeps: rinse(10s),10s,15s,20s,25s,30s,40s,50s,1m10m,1m30s,2m,3m
Teapot 8oz
100ºC/212ºF
5 Featured Black Teas Assortment Samples
Yun Nan Dian Hong Black Tea Full-leaf
$10.90
Rating :
I’ve tasted this one twice now. This was the first loose leaf pu’er that I’ve prepared, and I definitely underestimated the amount of leaf that I should use the first time. More is definitely better with this shou. For me, about a third of my gaiwan works pretty well considering the leaves don’t expand much after water hits them.
The dry leaf aroma is spicy, dry, and woody. The leaves are short, stocky, and thin with faded black, and light brown colorations. They remind me of black tea leaves. After a wash of around ten seconds the leaves reveal a thick and earthy aroma like rich and fertile soil. There are also some notes of cocoa, grapes, and the second time I tried it, some faint funky smell like spoiled grapes. Kind of off-putting, but not awful.
The broth ends up being quite nice. The first steep is very thick and dark, but not so much so that I can’t see to the bottom of the cup. Later on, as steeps progress, it becomes darker and murky. Tea oils are also apparent on the surface.
Flavor-wise, it’s a bit of a weaker brew as I alluded to at the beginning. I first began with Teavivre’s recommended steep times, but found them to produce a more one-dimensional and shallow flavor. I do 10" for the first and 20" for the second steep, but usually jump to something above a minute for the third and something like five minutes for the fourth. I can maybe get one or two extra steeps after that, but they typically aren’t note-worthy.
This shou has a very woody flavor, which is always the top note for each steep. Later on, a really sweet and peaty flavor mingles with the woodsy notes while dry, spicy features rise throughout the session. At some points, I can taste some fruity dimensions, like a wine-y aspect that provides both sweetness and a tad bit of tartness. Later on during the session, usually during the fourth steep, it tastes really leathery, with an almost oily mouthfeel to match. Otherwise, I suppose I could describe this tea as “smooth” texturally, but the mouthfeel isn’t very interesting overall, although it becomes faintly sparkly during the very last steep. I can, however, get a decent aftertaste following most steeps, which happens to be very sweet.
Other than a faint metallic undertone in the first steep, a bit of an odd aroma to the wet leaves, and a little oiliness this shou is pretty clean. It provides most of the things I would look for in a shou, but doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.
This review was originally published on Steepster by Cody on January, 2013. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from Cody.
Rating :
Very good tea that takes quite a few infusions. Good flavour without being overly characteristic of a Pu-erh. I prefer the typical Pu-erh taste over the subtleness of this one but can recomemnd it to people who are less into the typical flavour of this tea group.
Rating :
Its pretty good for a puer. but im really not a big fan of puer in general. tastes kind of like tobacco
Rating :
Yet another wonderful tea from Teavivre. They sent me a sample which has only furthered my interest in Pu-Erhs, though I am still very new to them. I am sure, however, that I will be drinking this one for a long time.
Rating :
This is my first time trying pu-erh tea, and at first the smell put me off a bit, but this tea is actually quite good! It has a very mellow, slightly bitter taste. I added honey at first, but I also enjoy it plain too. This tea has really grown on me. It's also really pleasant to enjoy after a long day at work.
Rating :
The dry leaf of this smells very similar to the Xiaguan toucha I was drinking earlier. I prepared this tea per Teavivre’s instructions of ~1 min. steep times. Pouring this tea was really interesting! I noticed that at first the water was very russet/copper colored and then ended with very deep browns and reds. I guess I never paid attention to that before.
This pu’erh has a distinct hay and bread like quality. There is some sweetness, but it is at the back end of the sip. It also kind of reminds me of cream of wheat for some reason; so farina like. Something about drinking this makes me think that it’d pair well with almonds and crystallized aged gouda cheese bits. I think that the mouth feel of this reminds me a bit of almond skins and that’s where I’m getting this. That sounds really weird when I write it down! Overall this is really easy to make and it is a great pu’erh for newbies like me.
This review was originally published on Steepster by Tamm on December 21. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from Tamm.
Rating :
Understand that this is the 1st Pu-erh I have tried. I purchased the black tea sampler and would probably never have tried it otherwise. So I am no expert. Also, I sweeten all my teas with stevia. However, my husband doesn't sweeten his tea and he liked it. All I can say is I like this tea a lot, definitely enough to re-order. In fact I think I'll get the TeaVivre Pu-erh sampler so I can compare it with others.
Rating :
Dry Leaf: Has a earthy smell.
Wet Leaf: Has a rich wood aroma with some earthiness.
Liquor: Dark amber color
Taste: This tea has a smooth woody or earthy taste with a faint sweetness. As you continue to steep this tea it becomes more of a smooth leathery flavored tea that gets lighter and lighter with each steeping. I think this loose puerh is better than most loose puerh you will find.
Rating :
I didn't think any puerh was going to unseat the RIpened Aged Mini Tuo Cha as my favorite any time soon, but I think this tea just did it!
I like my puerh strong, but not fishy. This tea makes me think of the stout beams of a cathedral, hewn in antiquity and lovingly polished until softly gleaming. This isn't the taste of leather, mushroom, or even forest path. This is transporting.
The first steeps had a tingle, like mint would give, but different. These later infusions are getting sweeter and more mineral. I am in tea love!
Rating :
Very good quality and enjoyable pu-erh. It's earthy, but in a very light and pleasant way. There are flavors of chocoloate and molasses present in the tea with a hint of sweetness. Teavivre always provides high quality teas at affordable prices, many thanks to a great company.