This Feng Pai Qi Zi Bing Cha is our first puer and fermented tea. Puer is made from unoxidised green tea that’s undergone microbial fermentation and oxidation, which distinguishes it from unoxidised white and green teas as well as oolong and black teas that have undergone the oxidation process only. The method of fermentation creates two categories of puer: raw puer is created through a complex process of gradual fermentation and maturation with time, while ripe puer is created through an accelerated fermentation process known as ‘wodui’ that lasts 45-60 days.

It’s known as qi zi bing cha  (literally ‘seven units cake tea’) because seven of the cakes (‘bing’) are packaged together at a time for sale or transport.

The tea is a round, flat, disc shape with a rounded edge. This is the front of the cake, which is even and featured the (partially obscured) logo of the brand.

The back of the cake is uneven with a central cavity. A tea needle or tea knife is used to break the cake from this back side of the cake to preserve the appearance of the front. While most of the cake is hard, there’s usually a slightly softer spot around the central cavity that can be used to break off the tea with the tea needle.

As a cake, the tea has a deep earthy aroma of old wood and mushrooms. Broken up this ripe puer tea has a slightly fishy smell as it retains some of its dui wei (pile taste) being produced within the last 3 years. This cake has a production date of April 2017.

Rinsing 3 g of compressed tea leaf in hot water for a few seconds then discarding the water and steeping in 200 mL of water at 96°C for 3 minutes, the infusion was an clear orange-brown colour with an initial aroma that starts off slightly fishy but quickly gave way to the same deep earthy aroma of old wood and mushrooms. Served hot, the tea has a mellow earthy flavour that developed with mushroom notes in the body followed by a gently sweet finish. Despite its dark colour — much darker than any black tea — the tea has a smooth mouthfeel with no astringency.

This Feng Pai Qi Zi Bing Cha contained 357 g. It originated in Fengqing County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province, China and was received as a gift from acquaintances visiting China in 2018.