TSNG070 - Bayiqing Gushu Shengcha 2020

Product detailed description

Aged sheng puer from Bayiqing village (芭依箐) at Yiwu Tea Mountain (易武山). Tea was harvested in 2020 during the first Spring harvest (Touchun 头春), which is even more precious, sweeter and more complex, and compressed in Spring 2023. Bayiqing village is located approximately 8 km (aerial view) from famous Xiaobohetang (小薄荷塘) micro-region in Mengla County (勐海县), which is well-known thanks to its signature minty variations and properties. The tea leaves come from ancient tea trees (gushu 古树), which were collected across Bayiqing tea gardens at the elevation about 1800 m.a.s.l. The cover has blue-white color and Chinese dragon motive, which refers to long history of sheng puer tea trade (shengcha 生茶) sourced from the Yiwu Ancient Tea Gardens, formerly also known as Mansa (曼撒). The tea cake is compressed with thin grooves (Shousibing 手撕饼), which help you to easily divide the tea cake by hand even without using the tea tools (tea needle or tea knife).

The tea was generously provided by Liang, a certified tea master (2013, Shenzhen), senior tea mentor and lecturer at Xishuangbanna Jinlanling Vocational Training School (西双版纳金蓝领职业培训学校) since 2019 who source her teas across twelve tea mountains within Xishuangbanna. During our work trip to Xishuangbanna at the beginning of 2025, we spent quite a lot of time tasting, testing and consulting various aspects of local teas. Additionally, we conducted several interviews with her and discussed contemporary trends in Xishuangbanna tea industry. 

Aroma:

• Wet + dry leaf (Shicha 湿茶 + Gancha 干茶) - light orchid scent with honey tones
• Cup aroma imprint (Guabeixiang 挂杯香) - fresh woody and sweet honey tones
  

Color:

• Initial phase (< 5 infusions) - transparent yellow-orange shades
• Development phase (> 5 infusions) - brighter golden-honey shades

Taste:

• Initial phase (< 5 infusions) - soft tropical flowers (white lilies and orchids) and fresh medicinal tones (dandelion, chamomile, linden and gingko with mild minty tones
• Advanced phase (> 5 infusions) - freshly peeled nuts (hazelnuts and walnuts), freshly cut wood (oak and ashwood) with tones of old citruses, forest fruits and forest honey
  

Body: 

• Thickness (Naipao 耐泡) - solid vitality, which will allow you to make more infusions
• Texture (Chunhounongyu 醇厚浓郁) - smooth and very delicate layers
• Astringency (Se 涩) - marginal or virtually non-existent (typical for Mengla area)
• Character (Kutianjiaozhi 苦甜交织) - similarly like other teas from Yiwu Mountain, this tea rapidly brings intense sweeteness and provides different varieties of stonefruits and honey (character of the Yiwu Mountain). Since this tea has close geographical proximity from Xiaobohetang (小薄荷塘), this tea also bring refreshing minty feeling and pleasant sense of mindfulness different from fresh harvest sheng puer teas with high-caffeine content
• Balance (Zonghe pinghengdu 综合平衡度) - differences between particular layers of flavours are gradual and symmetrical (i.e. no suprise changes in between the infusions)

Aftertaste:

• Sweetness (Huigan 回甘) - strong and intense sweeteness within hours
• Mouthful feeling (Shengjin 生津) - intense mouth-water-feeling within hours
• Energy feeling (Nenglianggan 能量感) - noticable boosting, cooling and tonic effect within hours