Our Pu-erh Ripe Tea with Strong Aftertaste and Rich Flavor
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea Mini Tuo Cha is a ripe Pu-erh tea made from spring tea harvested from trees hundreds of years old growing deep in the mountains. It is a tea with a very well-balanced flavor, taste, and depth of aftertaste, allowing you to fully enjoy the richness of its flavor.
The 2019 harvest has a strong flavor reminiscent of dried jujube, with a rich, long aftertaste and deep throat sensation. It dispels the musty image sometimes associated with ripe tea, making it enjoyable for both first-time Pu-erh drinkers and connoisseurs. Enjoy the mature, melting mouthfeel and the sensation of the tea flowing smoothly down your throat.
This product (Mini Tuo Cha type) is designed for convenience, processed into small shapes resembling chocolate, allowing you to brew tea using the whole piece.
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea is available in 2 types: Mini Tuo Cha and cake. This product is the Mini Tuo Cha type.
Although both types use raw material from Wu Liang Shan, the specific material used differs slightly. While sold under the same name, their flavor and texture are not identical. If you enjoy 1 type, we encourage you to try the other as well.
Mini Tuo Cha
Cake type
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea is well-received by regular Pu-erh drinkers and can be enjoyed equally by beginners and connoisseurs.
The flavor is reminiscent of dried fruits, and the taste is mellow, smooth, and full-bodied.
In addition to the pleasant drinking experience, Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea has a deep aftertaste that spreads through the back of the throat.
The "character" of tea is determined by its flavor and drinking experience, but the "quality" of tea—which encompasses a three-dimensional, clean taste and flavor, and the richness you feel when drinking—is defined by the depth of its taste and flavor.
Production of Pu-erh Tea in Yunnan Province
"In Yunnan Province, you can find Pu-erh tea almost everywhere." In ethnic minority villages, each household produces Pu-erh tea, and even small villages have hundreds of varieties.
Across all of Yunnan Province, there are thousands or even tens of thousands of types of Pu-erh tea, so in that sense, finding a Pu-erh tea to buy is easy for anyone.
However, finding Pu-erh tea with a deep aftertaste—as rich and mellow as high-quality chocolate—is extremely rare.
The mountains of Wu Liang Shan
Tea growing in the mountains
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea is made from tea trees over 100 years old, planted in the mountains rather than cultivated gardens, making the tea semi-wild.
Ethnic minorities harvest the tea 1–2 times a year as part of their livelihood. Tea plucking involves climbing the trees and selecting leaves by hand—a genuinely laborious process.
To the ethnic minorities of Wu Liang Shan, the tea trees in the surrounding mountains are like wild vegetables, growing among wild trees in the forest.
Mountain tea contains more minerals than garden-grown tea, and old trees growing slowly with deep root systems yield leaves that are especially rich in minerals.
These abundant minerals give the tea a richer, fuller taste. One of the main minerals in Pu-erh tea is iron, which plays a key role in blood production and is especially beneficial for those prone to anemia.
A worker plucking leaves high in an old tea tree — harvesting from these ancient trees is a genuinely demanding task.
Old tea trees growing in the mountains
Various Shapes of Ripe Pu-erh Tea Depending on Usage
Ripe Pu-erh tea is shaped into various forms such as rounds and blocks, depending on its intended use. Before pressing, Pu-erh tea exists as loose leaves called mao cha.
Once fermentation is complete, the leaves look similar to black tea. We purchase the tea in this state and have it pressed into the desired shape.
Ripe Pu-erh mao cha before pressing
Processed into Small Shapes for Convenience
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea Mini Tuo Cha is designed for convenience, pressed into small pieces resembling chocolate.
Each piece weighs 6–8 g, so use the whole piece when brewing.
The small size makes it convenient for sharing with friends!
Wu Liang Shan Ripe Tea is Very Economical
This tea is very economical — just 5 g of leaves can yield 2 liters of brewed tea across multiple infusions.
If you do not finish the tea in one session, you can continue brewing within the same day. For example, it is perfectly fine to resume brewing the next morning from leaves used the previous evening.
Enjoying strong tea in small sips is another rewarding way to savor Pu-erh tea.
Focus on Sourcing Naturally Cultivated Tea
Since 2010, we have been visiting Yunnan Province every spring. Over the years, we have built connections with many famous tea regions. However, our focus is not on a region's fame, but rather on tea with transparency and a long-lasting aftertaste. To achieve this, we focus on remote mountain villages, selecting tea gardens with ancient tea trees, high altitudes, and no fertilizers, sourcing through unique logistics channels. For more details, please visit the following page.
In Yunnan, teas claiming to be from famous regions are produced in thousands of locations using leaves from other areas, and can be found everywhere—from airports and convenience stores to supermarkets.
What complicates matters is the surprising phenomenon where imitation teas made from leaves in remote areas are of higher quality than the genuine articles. This is especially common with Pu-erh teas from Lincang, and it is a well-known fact among professionals involved in local sourcing. For more details, please visit the following page.
In Yunnan Province, there are long-established brands like Dayi and Zhongcha. These brands are renowned because their teas produced before 1990 are highly valued.
So why are these older teas considered special? Many people assume it is due to long aging, but in reality, the tea leaves used at that time were naturally grown without fertilizers, resulting in their superior quality.
Therefore, even if current teas are aged for a long time, they will not reach the same quality. For more information, please visit the following page.
