Bamboo Fragrance Puerh, "Shou", Vintage 2003

Bamboo Fragrance Puerh – People in Yunnan, China, have used bamboo as containers for storing food for more than 1000 years. For this tea special aromatic bamboo variety is used, and is harvested only once a year when the bamboo is still young. Tea leaves are forced down in the open end, sealed with clay and roasted over a wood fire. As the bamboo stick dries in the fire the aroma merge with the Pu-erh inside. Around 100g in each stick. When we tasted this rare puerh, we knew we had to buy some to offer to you. Aged in fresh bamboo stalks, this black, small leaf puerh is imparted with just a hint of the sweet bamboo flavor giving the final cup a smooth, fragrant taste. To use the tea, use a puerh knife and carefully crack the bamboo along the side, opening it up to reveal the delicious tea inside – break off about a quarter inch piece to brew a 12 oz pot, or slightly smaller for just a cup. Brew with hot, boiling water, and steep 1 – 3 minutes, as you like. This fantastic tea can be re-steeped up to 5 times, and a single bamboo tube should make approximately 30 pots of tea. Store the tea in the bamboo tube, just use a rubber band to secure the tube together.