2013 Mae Nam Khun Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake

Even though this cake looks like Chinese pu-erh tea, don’t let a custom-made cover misguide you.

The material for this shu was harvested in the forests of Chiang Rai (northern Thailand) and fermented in the small town of Mae Nam Khun. It is quite unusual and noteworthy that they used red (black) tea for fermentation, but we'll come back to that.

The smell is classic, and full-bodied - hazelnut, camphor, and almond. From the second steeping, a very pleasant melody with sandalwood and menthol notes, appear in the aroma.

This ripe pu-erh tea is somewhat reminiscent of our Chun Xiang, but with a denser, more piquant body.

The taste corresponds clearly to the aroma: nutty-woody notes, almond, camphor, tannin. An attentive, experienced pu-erh drinker will immediately notice a slight, but clearly readable tartness of red tea. It does not interfere here at all, but, on the contrary, adds tea-satiety. It feels like a little amount of strong red tea was added to a good shu. As I understand it, this results from using red tea material instead of traditional mao cha.

All of these melodies are interweaved very organically and deliciously. The tea turned out classic, but with its own face.

What else it has: a) a menthol-floral aftertaste with camphor and oily almond tones; b) a powerful tea energy.

I’m not a proponent of the gender classification of teas, but if I was, I’d say this pu-erh has a masculine, strong character, judging both by its taste and cha qi: nuts, wood, camphor, and menthol; concentration, and focus. No dairy-buttery sweets or condensed milk for you.

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