A tea that has many people wondering - sheng or shou? Thorough transformation of inner components yields a highly desirable aged (chenxiang) & medicinal (yaoxiang) profile that invites comparisons to older sheng or even liubao.
The concentrated camphor aroma of Lincang tea is distinct from that of Yiwu or Menghai, as is the way it responds to pile-fermentation. We find it to be an acquired taste. Yet, with the discovery of this jintuo (a term indicating the tight compression*), now approaching 20 years, Lincang's unique flavor and aging potential makes more and more sense. Among friends who have previewed this tea, it has quickly become a favorite.
* while this style of tea is usually referred to as jintuo (紧沱), we are calling this songtuo (松沱) due to the relaxed nature acquired over the course of storage. Easily yields to our rosewood tea knife and can even be carefully separated by hand. While song (松) means 'loose' or 'relaxed', it also means 'pine', befitting the deeply penetrating and expansive nature of this tea.
We're working on a custom wrapper for this new release but, in the meantime, have carried a few of these precious tuos back from our recent trip to Yunnan!
Please note: for those of you who notice small particles on the tea surface, these come from disintegration of the paper wrappers and outer bamboo shells. This tea is extremely clean, without a hint of storage aroma.
