2018 Yunnan Sourcing "He Tao Di Village" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Almond, Black Pepper, Chili, Marine, Mineral, Orchids, Peanut, Spicy, Broth, Butter, Cinnamon, Fireplace, Fur, Garden Peas, Honey, Milk, Mushrooms, Nuts, Nutty, Olives, Plants, Squash Blossom, Sweet, Umami, Vegetable Broth, Wet Rocks, Wheat, Wood, Zucchini
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Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Togo
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 3 oz / 95 ml

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2 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Finally opened this cake after purchasing in late 2020. Unfortunately as a newbie to pu-er storage I may have ruined this cake by prying it apart into two disc + doughnut halves to try an A/B...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “Today is my first time trying out a fairly recent addition to Yunnan Sourcing’s vast catalog of Jinggu teas – He Tao Di. In particular, this sample is the 2018 vintage. As it turns out, this is...” Read full tasting note
    95

From Yunnan Sourcing

Entirely Old Arbor tea from the Spring 2018 Harvest from He Tao Di Village in Jinggu County of Simao. He Tao Di (lit. Walnut Grove) Village is a tiny village (with just 11 households in total) that is located south-east of Jinggu town in a remote roadless area. 2 of the families are engaged in tea production and have been for several generations. The remainder of the villagers tend walnut groves.

The “He Tao Di Village” tea trees range in age from 40 to 200 years old growing at an altitude of about 1650 meters. The trees are pure assamica varietal (大叶种), with leaves that are large and stout, and have a deep olive-green color. This tea will brew up a perfectly balanced thick and pungent brew. Bitter, sweet, umami, honey, brine and orchid essence can be found in this wonderful tea.

Net Weight: 400 grams per cake (7 cakes per bamboo leaf tong)
Harvest time: April 2018
Harvest Area: He Tao Di Village, Jinggu County of Simao Prefecture (Yunnan Province)
Total Production amount: 140 cakes (50 kilograms)
Wrapper Illustration by Patrik Benedičič

This tea has been tested in a certified laboratory for 191 pesticides, and is within the EU MRL limits set for those 191 pesticide residues.

About Yunnan Sourcing View company

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2 Tasting Notes

85
261 tasting notes

Finally opened this cake after purchasing in late 2020. Unfortunately as a newbie to pu-er storage I may have ruined this cake by prying it apart into two disc + doughnut halves to try an A/B experiment… I’ve since scrapped the idea and put the halves back together to go back into the ziplock but placed the central loose leaf that fell out into a brown paper bag in unsealed plastic bag to “age”. This is going to be a trial run, then…

5g in 100ml porcelain gaiwan.

Wet leaf aroma: Intensely floral, the notes say orchid aroma and I can really feel that. (Orchid are my favourite flower, that’s what drove me to buy this in the first place). A lot of sweetness, a juicy note I can’t describe like it makes me imagine a fat aloe vera or fleshy jungle plant. Very pleasant. One of my favourite leaf aromas.
- 10 sec Rinse was already pretty deep-coloured and flavourful but had a bit of taste of grit so I ended up throwing it out after two sips.

1st infusion:
- Full-bodied, a bit vegetal/grassy, marine brine, very slight and pleasant dryness in the mouth. Sweetness is barely detectable but it’s not flavourless nor bitter. Smells a bit salty / umami like the sea (but doesn’t taste salty), and a hint of minerality. A very light and subtle infusion, not as flavourful as a fresh green tea, but like a (non-astringent) later shadow of one.

2nd infusion: Had to leave the house so the leaves sat there for about three hours before I could come back to them.
- Liquor now gives me a tingly cooling sensation in the mouth. Flavour is spicy (chili, black pepper), slightly bitter, mineral-rocky, and nutty (almonds or peanuts). No sweetness or fruitiness.

Verdict: It’s not my favourite right now, but I am excited to see how this will taste in 2026*!
*Unfortunately it won’t age as nicely as if I had left the entire cake intact, according to Mei Leaf’s videos about ageing raw pu-er cakes.

Flavors: Almond, Black Pepper, Chili, Marine, Mineral, Orchids, Peanut, Spicy

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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95
943 tasting notes

Today is my first time trying out a fairly recent addition to Yunnan Sourcing’s vast catalog of Jinggu teas – He Tao Di. In particular, this sample is the 2018 vintage. As it turns out, this is probably my favourite Jinggu tea at the moment. It is very well balanced and pungent. Also, it bears some resemblance to both Menghai teas (strong honey notes and a good huigan) and Yi Wu teas (being aromatic and strong without turning too bitter or astringent). It lasts for quite a long time too, I got 16 infusions (200ml/g) today; and remains interesting all the way until the end.

Dry leaves smell like squash blossom with various notes of fruits and flowers, but it’s not a pungent aroma overall. Instead, wet leaves have a stronger scent that reminds me of fireplace, wood, fur, courgette, and cinnamon. In the late stages, these get overpowered by a strong mushroom note.

Already the rinse is strong tasting and flavourful. The profile is brothy with umami, butter, and wheat flavours. First infusion is then more sweet, an aspect that seems to just keep intensifying throughout the session. There are notes of milk, honey, truffles, and cashew nuts. Second steep is somewhat grassy and nutty in comparison, while the third has new flavours such as raw olives and juniper berries. Subsequent infusions are consistently pungent with a touch of bitterness and increasing sweetness as well as a light dryness in the finish. Flavours like those of vegetable broth, wet rocks, wood, and eventually also mushrooms emerge over the course of the second half of the session. The aftertaste at times reminds me of warm spiced milk, but it also shows new notes like green peas and bay leaf among many others.

One of the definite highlights of the tea is its texture for sure. The mouthfeel is super thick, coating, foamy, smooth, and kind of sticky. I greatly enjoyed this tea and I am likely going to buy a cake with my next YS order.

Flavors: Broth, Butter, Cinnamon, Fireplace, Fur, Garden Peas, Honey, Milk, Mineral, Mushrooms, Nuts, Nutty, Olives, Plants, Squash Blossom, Sweet, Umami, Vegetable Broth, Wet Rocks, Wheat, Wood, Zucchini

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 3 OZ / 90 ML

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