Our celebration of the deliciousness of young, fresh, Gushu Sheng PuErh continues with our 2020 Young Gushu. As always, we tasted many Gushu Sheng PuErh samples to select our Young Gushu 2020 and the winning mountain village this year is Bang Dong Da Xue Shan near Lincang.
The Young Gushu series began in 2015 after we felt that freshly made and loose Sheng PuErh needed to be more available to the tea community. Sure, it's great to press and enjoy as cakes but there is a pleasure which is both aesthetic and sensorial about drinking these prime leaves loose.
Our selection criteria are simple yet elusive. Find a young, Gushu (ancient tea tree), raw PuErh that is easy-drinking enough to start sipping immediately but with punch, character and aromatics that celebrate these incredible tea forests. Of course, you can continue to age these teas and they will evolve but they are designed for instant pleasure!
This tea is made from early spring pickings of ancient tea trees (est 200-300 years old) growing in the forests near Bang Dong Da Xue Shan. This mountain area (Great Snow Mountain) is a famous area up near Lincang in Yunnan. There are actually four Da Xue Shan areas so if you see this mountain being advertised then it is worth finding our more detail. This tea comes from Bang Dong Da Xue Shan which is to the north-east of West Lan Cang river.
The slopes are very steep and rocky. This provides a certain character to the tea similar to Yan Cha (rock oolong) with a thick and oily mouthfeel leading to a slightly carbonated sensation in the throat which I adore. The flavour and aromatics are rich in sweet fruits and minerals making it a very comforting yet refreshing Gushu which is ultra quaffable.
