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Decoding factory puer, part 2

Decoding factory puer, part 2

A bright rejoinder for spring + navigating the aged tea landscape.

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Max Falkowitz
May 13, 2025
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Decoding factory puer, part 2
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ID: Dayi 8582 cake in wrapper

Free tea for Leafhopper readers

UPDATE: All of the 8582 tea is now claimed! Thanks to everyone who wrote in. I hope to do more of these giveaways in the months ahead. If you’re interested in sharing tea with Leafhopper readers, email me!

Are you curious about last week’s Dayi 8582 puer? Want to try a taste? Leafhopper regular Amory has graciously offered to send free samples of this tea to a few subscribers. Email me at max.falkowitz@gmail.com with “free puer” in the subject line and include your full mailing address. The first four people to do so will receive ~80 grams (about a quarter of a standard cake) shipped from jolly old England. This offer is open to drinkers worldwide provided Amory can get a reasonable shipping rate to you. One of my favorite things about the tea world is the generous spirit of sharing between drinkers, especially in the puer community where good tea can be hard to find. Thank you, Amory!


ID: Manzhuan raw puer tea in wrapper

Easy like Sunday morning

The tea: 2021 Manzhuan raw puer, sold by T Shop. $138 for 357g.

Last week’s Leafhopper featured a classic example of “factory tea” from Yunnan’s largest puer brand. Today we’re drinking a puer on the opposite end of the spectrum. This is a young boutique production made with old growth leaves harvested on Manzhuan mountain. It’s light, bright, and deeply rewarding to drink. Will it age as well as Dayi’s 8582 blend? Only time will tell, though we’ll see if this cake lasts me that long.

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Old growth leaves used for puer are called gushu. They’re plucked from trees that grow naturally in forests rather than in neat plantation rows. Gushu trees don’t yield as much leaf as young plantation growth, but the material they do provide is higher quality: richer, thicker, more complex, and more likely to induce somatic effects in the drinker. How old does an old growth tree need to be to be called gushu? No one can agree, and it’s standard business practice for farmers and sellers to inflate the age of trees. That’s why I’m more interested in good growing conditions rather than tree age statements. Based on how this tea makes me feel, I have a good feeling about the environment it comes from.

ID: Manzhuan raw puer tea cake

The source: Theresa Wong of T Shop is one of my most trusted tea rabbis and it bugs me when “where to drink tea in New York” articles skip over her and Hyun Lee’s charming hideaway in Manhattan. Part of it is her humble spirit. Theresa’s not one to advertise, preferring to let her teas speak for themselves. Pay a visit if you can and drink some tea together. Theresa is a master at meeting customers where they are on their tea journeys so she can drop kernels of insight that take root as you sip. I enjoy her selection of puer as much as her excellent oolongs.

Sip this one in silence

Sip this one in silence

Max Falkowitz
·
Jan 21
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ID: Manzhuan raw puer tea brewed

To brew: Historically, young raw puer teas would taste pretty bitter and astringent; only aging would mellow them out to a more drinkable state. A boutique puer like this one is much more palatable and can usually be drunk right away. I use 8 grams in a 150 milliliter pot (~1g/19ml) for a bold cup that doesn’t get too strong. Brew with boiling water and 10 second steeps to start, increasing to a minute or so after the first 6 brews. This boutique brew tastes like all kinds of spring things. Herbal and fruity flavors abound with apricot notes as the leaves unfurl and eventually reveal some roasted grain character. The texture is thick and luxurious, a nice sign of the tea’s vitality. It also lasts forever. A friend and I spent nearly three hours drinking upwards of 20 steeps and it still had more to give. I get an upbeat and relaxed feeling from drinking this tea. It’s buoyant, bright, and nourishing. What more could you want on a nice spring day?

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ID: Puer tea cakes

How to buy factory puer

We’ve covered the ebbs and flows of the aged puer business. Now it’s time to navigate that landscape as a buyer. Puer is one of the trickiest teas to shop for because of all the factors to consider. Where—and how well—was the tea stored? How reputable is the source and what’s the likelihood of a counterfeit? Which of Yunnan’s many factories and productions are worth seeking out? Since aged tea is usually bought through a chain of merchants rather than directly from origin, traceability regarding any of these questions is all but impossible. Good purchases require both luck and gumption.

Decoding factory puer, part 1

Decoding factory puer, part 1

Max Falkowitz
·
May 6
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It’s easy to get overwhelmed. And it’s not for everyone. But if you’re looking to fall down the puer rabbit hole, here are the pointers I wish I had when starting out.

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