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2010 Jinggu Lao Cha Tou Ripe Pu-erh Tea | Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop

2010 Jinggu Lao Cha Tou Ripe Pu-erh Tea

by Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop
$8.75 - $34.75
$8.75
$8.75 - $34.75
$8.75

These smaller cha tou are from a 2010 wet pile batch of Jinggu harvested tea! Aged in Jinggu town from 2010 until 2024, these are well aged with little/no wet pile taste!

Creamy, chocolatey, smooth, and sweet ripe tea that lasts many many steeps! Nice warming qi and lubricating mouth-feel from start to finish!

We highly recommend brewing these "grandpa style" in a vacuum tea flask to get the best extraction! We recommend using one of the three products below, and steeping 10 grams for 60 minutes or more using just off boil spring water.

If brewing gong fu style we recommend using a pure silver teapot and long steeps of several minutes.

Region: Jinggu County of Simao (Yunnan)

Harvest time:  Spring 2010

Cha Tou is a kind of tea nugget that forms naturally from the pressures of compression and heat that occurs during the fermentation process. Typically during fermentation process to make ripe pu-erh there is a pile of tea about 1 meter high. It is kept wet to allow the fermentation process and the pile is turned every few days to allow for an even degree of fermentation, moving the tea from the bottom of the pile (where it is hotter and wetter) to the top of the pile where it is cooler and drier. The "cha tou" are the leaves that ball up and get stuck together. The best cha tou are ones that have not been over-fermented and are smaller in size (like these).

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Overall rating: 4.5 / 5 from 8 reviews.

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Review topics: [flavor, cha, tea, drinker].

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Reviews

Good but not my favorite

"I think this was a good quality Puerh, but by no means my favorite. It is good for someone starting into Puerh in my opinion as the flavor is not overly strong. I like puerh that has a more woody taste to it. You can taste it in this tea, but it is much lighter than others. That being said, for the price, you really cannot complain. It is extremely affordable and as such could be a daily tea."

— Phillip (4/5)

My Favorite Lao Cha Tou

"Don't let my 4-star review fool you—this is one of my absolute favorite teas (ripe, lao cha tou, or otherwise) of all time. The aging is perfect and does this tea much justice. A palpable wet leaf aroma consists of aged wood, tobacco, and milk, with a hint of camphor. The aroma carries over into taste, rounded out with a choice amount of sweetness, creaminess, and little to no bitterness. If you're a tea enthusiast of ANY capacity, trust me when I say you must at least try this tea! Just don't get mad at me when you have to order more and more. ;) I'd rather pay for this tea than my rent—————————seriously."

— Nathan G. (4/5)

Extremely solid and nonfussy daily

"Extremely solid and nonfussy daily drinker. I think it's impossible to oversteep."

— Elise P. (4/5)

Very smooth and pleasant, long lasting

"My first ripe puerh! Dry scent is light, dry nori. Flavor is very nice, woody. Really aged and mellow, but you can tell it has that fermented-but-well-aged flavor I hear a lot about. Nice to finally experience it, and I was not disappointed! Beautiful color, sophisticated. Umami with a distant “sweetness”. Good cha qi almost immediately. I really like this. Lighter bodied than I expected, which is fine with me. I’m not a thick and syrupy kind of person. It goes many steeps. A dozen or so. The leaves keep giving. Very enjoyable!"

— Alfonso A. (5/5)

Pretty Darn Good

"I'm new to the Pu-erh game and stumbled upon this by chance in the Introduction to Pu-Erh sampler. So glad I did -- not only does this tea present beautifully, it's produced in a very novel way (from my Western perspective, anyway), and imparts an absolutely delicious flavor. I prepared it in a vacuum sealed flask as suggested, for about 1. 5 hours, and was able to enjoy the tea for an entire afternoon."

— Evan F. (5/5)

The best daily drinker AND 2:00 PM pick-me-up

"This is not a complicated tea but that doesn't mean it isn't elegant! I find it gently savory, slightly malted, copacetically creamy and correctly minerally like a light roast coffee without a trace of bitterness or astringency. The cha qi here is very light and subtle but it is present. Just don't expect to run hurdles but it will aid concentration. I find 6 grams per 100 ml at 205 F is just right for me with my hard alkaline water. For the life of me, i can't oversteep this tea and I've been trying. 10 seconds or 10 minutes, it comes out consistently good every time. So far it seems to infuse forever so I bet grandpa style is perfect for this pu-erh."

— Christopher B. (5/5)

I enjoyed it.

"Not bad at all, but im no expert on pu reh"

— Ryan W. (4/5)

Excellent, earthy, full body. Good

"Excellent, earthy, full body. Good huigan and cha qi."

— Hyun C. (5/5)

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