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“I bought these raw puer balls with my last order from BTTC just to try it. And yesterday I tried it. Said to be a 2015, I don’t doubt its youth—now at 9 yrs. Physically, the material consists of...” Read full tasting note
There is nothing more dear to us at BTTC than High Elevation teas. This raw pu-erh is no exception.
Bing Dao 冰岛 is a famous tea-growing village area in Lincang, Yunnan Province known for its high elevation and viscous, milder teas. I don’t know the year on these because they’ve been in the bottom of my tea chest for, I’m guessing three years and I didn’t write the year down. It’s still young though and has a LOT of energy (chaqi). I’m guessing 2015. Bing Dao has gained a lot of fame over the last few years and tea prices are among the highest in Yunnan. I’m guessing these are from material in the surrounding area. I’m pretty good at discerning Bingdao as it’s probably my favorite area in Yunnan.
I recommend a French press to allow the leaves to expand. You’ll get A LOT of steeps from these Bing Dao Balls. I don’t recommend “Grandpa Style” brewing for this one but rather a longer initial steep (1 min.) followed by increasingly shorter steeps as the leaves unfurl in order to avoid over-astringency. Get it right and it’s very nice! Get it wrong and your lips will pucker ;)
This tea has mostly bigger leaves meticulously hand-processed into little “Dragon Balls”.
Price is for a bit more than 2oz. Each order comes with 7 tea orbs.
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PuerhShop.comI bought these raw puer balls with my last order from BTTC just to try it. And yesterday I tried it. Said to be a 2015, I don’t doubt its youth—now at 9 yrs. Physically, the material consists of whole tips (2 leaves and bud) carefully rolled into a ball slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball, weighing about 9g each. I used a whole ball and steeped sequentially in 8oz boiling alpine spring water for 30 sec after a quick rinse with the same water. The tea rapidly loosened, with free leaves after the 2nd steep. Their color was an olive green with brown streaks, looking very appealing. The aroma was sharp and slightly smoky. The taste, however almost made my mouth pucker! Not sour, but very astringent and bitter. Vegetal, tannic and harsh, and so rough on my throat that I couldn’t speak well after the second cup! As if my vocal chords seized up, like happens after a coughing fit. Third steeping was the same, and was the last I could tolerate. These “dragon balls” won’ be fit to drink for another 20 years at least. And I will have no interest in them by then, so they are up for adoption. My voice gradually recovered overnight. If this type of tea is to your taste, they are still for sale on the BTTC site also.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Green, Tannic, Tart, Vegetal
No other symptoms besides the raw throat, but I ran a Covid-19 test yesterday just to be sure. Negative test. It’s the tea that’s sick, not me!