Xiao Meng Song has many tea gardens over a large area, several of them with their own quite distinct character. This tea is from some tea gardens above what locals refer to as the 'Old Reservoir' / Lao Shui Ku. The tea gardens are at around 1600 metres amidst a forested area. I had tasted tea from these gardens a few years ago but this was the first year I got some of this tea.

The wet leaves have notes of a kind of a yeasty-fermented marmite/vegemite aroma. The 'bei xiang' is honey-fruit.

The 'ru kou' is smooth, fragrant with fruit-honey notes and the mouth-feel is clean/smooth.

There is a slight bitterness but little astringency and some gentle 'sheng jin'.

Like other Meng Song teas it has enough fullness and depth to make it interesting.

The aftertaste has some nice retro-olfactory leathery notes and some decent 'hui gan'

Tasted: 26/08/18

Please be aware that because raw Puer tea is a 'post-fermented' tea it is in a process of continual change: as it ages, but also from season to season and even day to day, so the description here is a snapshot of the tea's quality and character, which should not differ significantly, but which none-the-less can change.

All Puer teas are hand picked, fired and rolled unless it says otherwise, and sun dried. Cakes are pressed by hand using a stone or in a traditional hand press.