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Have You Tried Our Pu-erh Tea & Chocolate?

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Now’s Your Chance!

Try a flight of three top-quality pu-erhs at the Mission-Castro and Hayes/Hayes Valley Tea Lounges! This tea flight is a great opportunity to experience the complexities that make each tea uniquely delicious. And then there’s the chocolate.

Pu-erh Tea is the class of tea that is aged to perfection. It gets its name from the market of the city of Pu-erh, in Yunnan Province, China, where this tea was historically brought for sale from the more remote regions of the countryside where the tea is actually grown and processed. ?Authentic Pu-erh are made with Yunnan’s famous broad-leaf tea tree varietals. Unlike white, green, yellow, black, and most oolong teas, which are highly perishable and have a short shelf life, well-made pu-erh teas may be stored and aged for years of enjoyment.

There are two types of Pu-erh: Raw (or sheng) Pu-erh and Ripe (or shou) Pu-erh; both types of Pu-erh Tea (Raw and Cooked) are made with Sai qing “sun-cured green tea,” which is processed by withering, roasting, rolling, kneading and drying the leaves in the sun. Sheng Pu-erhs are aged naturally over time; Shou Pu-erhs are ripened using a modern, intentionally accelerated aging process.

White Sprout Da Xue Shan: 2003 Sheng Pu-Erh

We start off with a very rare “white pu-erh” made with just the white buds of the tea plant. From Da Xue Shan Mountain in the Northeast corner of Yunnan Province, China, this tea has a warm, smooth-mouth feel followed by rich notes of honeysuckle sweetness and a dried vegetal hint in every sip. The agedness of this 2003 Sheng Pu-erh rounds out its full, complex flavor with a deep mossy note. Deeper and bolder than white tea, lighter and sweeter than most pu-erh.  Full of flavor that will last for hours.

1995 Sheng Pu-Erh

Next we move a bit deeper into the world of green pu-erh. This Yunnan large leaf sheng pu-erh has been naturally aged since 1995. With a savory, vegetal character reminiscent of a green tea, this tea also posesses the complexity and earthiness of an aged pu-erh.

Royal Palace Shou Pu-Erh (Update: Royal Palace is now out of stock, but the other two pu-erhs are still available.)

Finally we feature our Royal Palace Shou Pu-erh, grown and processed by a cooperative in the Jing Mai Mountains of Yunnan, China. This pu-erh is made from the tender new growth of ancient tea trees that are over 100 years old. The tea liquor is smooth, malty, and deep with notes of bittersweet espresso  and chocolate.

Chocolate Pairings

Each tea is meant to be re-infused to supply hours of ever-developing infusions. Take your time savoring the nuances that evolve with each infusion. We complement the teas with a trio of dark chocolates made by local chocolatier Dandelion Chocolate in the Mission District of San Francisco. Each chocolate is made with cacao beans from a single region: Ambanja, Madagascar, Elvesia, Dominican Republic, and Rio Caribe, Venezuela. The combination is exquisite, and something that must be tasted to be fully appreciated.

We now take reservations at our lounges so take the stress off by reserving your spot:  Mission-Castro and Hayes/Hayes Valley Tea Lounges.

These teas are available in limited quantities. Feel free to email or call to confirm availability.

 

Want To Learn More About Tea?

Get your questions answered with The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Tea, a tea education series featuring Jesse Jacobs, Samovar Tea Lounge Founder, and Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net. It’s the easiest way to get into tea.

Ready to gear up with pu-erh? Check out our selection of handcrafted pu-erh tea and supplies.

 

 

 

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