104 Sheng Tea from Ban Payasi (8.8 oz cake)
March, 2012
Ban Payasi village, Phongsaly province
Big, old tea trees, buds and 2-3 young leaves
This was our first attempt to make Sheng (green)/Raw Pu-erh Tea. The technology we used is quite old and hasn’t been changed for centuries. Collected tea leaves are roasted in a wok pan, and rolled on bamboo trays then dried under the sun, spread in thin layers on the ground.
Sheng/Raw Pu-erh tea can be stored and matures in flavor over time. The storing quality is related to the fact that after sun-drying, the fermentation process in tea leaves continues in slow motion, creating a totally unique product called Aged Pu-erh tea. However, even if not aged at all, the taste of freshly made Sheng tea is very flavored and aromatic.
This type of tea is specially made using only raw tea leaves from the Ban Payasi village, considered the best tea-growing location in Laos.
In May, we compressed our first Sheng Pu-erh tea into 250 gr (8.8 oz) cakes and wrapped them in Laotian handmade paper.