Single origin pure fermented dark teas
These particular teas, first treated as green tea and steamed at a high temperature to stop oxidisation are left to mature in the open air but protected from direct sunlight for a few days. They are then dried or dehumidified depending on the type of dark tea required, sheng cha or a more mature variety called shu cha. Both can be compressed as a cake or left loose to continue to gently mature over the years. While shu cha releases notes of peaty vegetation and the undergrowth, sheng cha reveals dry wood notes and biting, sometimes vegetal notes, evoking cedar wood and patchouli. In Asia these are called dark teas, and in the Yunnan region in China, their birthplace, they are known as pu er.
