Another Imperial Grade offering, this time in cake form and with provenance from the Yunnan Provincial Tea Association (CNNP). A beautiful thick-paper 中茶牌 (zhongcha pai) traditional storage cake. Wrappers are ever-so-slightly bug bitten and stained. Gentle maltiness, cacao and aged aroma in the dry nose. Despite these prominent shoucha features, there are also hints of nascent shengcha aroma. Somehow this tea, when brewed with a calm heart and clear mind, occupies that liminal space between the raw and the cooked. From dark ruby liquor to palate, throat and beyond, this tea resonates into the depths of your being.