Craft shu pu-erh made from the material from 100-200-year-old Myanmar purple trees, harvested in 2013. I fermented a small butch in Chiangmai, in November 2018.
Tea turned out to be very distinctive in taste - notes of leather, wood, and mixed fruit. It is brewed into a black, dense infusion and has good stamina.
Recommended for collectors who are tired of the standard taste of factory-made ripe pu-erhs.
"Idle Buffalo" took bronze at the AVPA’s annual tea competition in Paris in 2022.
I have been drinking and loving high quality ripe pu-erh for decades. My gold standard has always been Menghai, especially Dayi. This is the first Myanmar ripe pu-erh I have ever tasted and I am very impressed. [it would be more correct to say that this is a Thai kraft shou-puerh I made from Burmese purple material in Chiang Mai. Note Valery, teaside]. I suspect this tea will be a lot better in a few more years. But it is already a very pleasant alternative to Menghai. I find it takes about three infusions before I can really taste its wonderful qualities. From the third infusion on it is a very excellent tea.
I generally fell in love with all those border Pu-erh regions. They really got some serious and wild jungle stuff. This buddy was creamy fruity from the start like pickled cherries with a very cooling minty immediate echo to it plus a hint of dark chocolate in combination like After Eight.
Compared to the Thai craft puer TS sell this one lacks complexity and depth.
But while it's taste is more common, it is very strong, and the quality is high-
it'll take you a long time to brew it out, and the mouthfeel is very good.
So on a regular shop this will be the highlight, here it's a step down, but different enough to warrant a try..