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In my quest to find the “perfect” shu pu I have had an amazing opportunity to sample what I personally think is some of the best shu pu around. From the amazing 1995 9016 Tuo Cha, to the pristine 1980’s Ti Tian, both have left a distinct impression on me, and both have delivered ultra-tasty tea sessions. At £340 per 330 gram cake, to 99 euros per 250 gram Tuo Cha, there is one thing that is missing from my tasting lineup…a downright bargain. Cometh the hour, cometh White2Tea.

I recently noticed that they had some new ripe puerh for sale…the mysterious white wrapper immediately sparked my interest and beckoned me to make a purchase. White2Tea always tend to have a very keen eye for high quality puerh at bargain prices, and at only £55 ($87.50) for 500 grams of this stuff it is simply a no-brainer purchase. I trust Paul 100% and have never been disappointed, so with good faith I placed a rather large order. Here are my notes…

Carefully unwrapping the delicate white wrapper, I see a cute compressed 100 gram Tuo staring back at me. I give the tuo a quick sniff…aged aromas with a sprinkling of humidity comes forth. Breaking apart this cute Tuo is easy with a puerh pick…I chip away a nice 9 gram chunk. Two very quick rinses in my 140ml gaiwan and I smell the wet leaves…a hint of fermentation, lovely rich, bold and nicely aged aroma. I hope that this tastes as good as it smells.

First proper steep at about 2 minutes. I pour the liquid…black and syrupy…perfect. First sip and I am in shu heaven yet again…rich, thick, earthy, creamy taste, bold flavours, ultra-smooth and slick down the throat, sweet long finish. This is seriously good shu pu.

This is not just a one steep wonder…the same lovely taste progresses steep after steep. It does get a more amber colour at around 10 steeps, however it still delivers on taste. It never gets bitter, no matter how long I decide to steep it for. This lovely shu pu punches well above its price. In fact, I don’t think you will find a better shu than this at the same price.

I usually write longer reviews than this, but there is not that much more to say. It is a fantastic example at an awesome price. I would say it is just as good as the 9016 Tuo Cha, therefore I have given it the same score. Both are very tasty, however taste quite different, so it is good to have high quality variety depending on what mood I am in. Does it topple the 1980’s Zi Tian from its throne? I personally don’t think so but that does not matter to me. What does matter to me is getting excellent quality at good prices, and White2Tea has delivered this in spades. I highly recommend this shu to anyone that is into shu. Many thanks to White2Tea for the amazing shu pu!

I was also going to review EOT’s 1970’s Y562 Shu Puerh tonight however the 1970’s powerful QI has got the better of me. I will leave that for tomorrow…