Simple Pleasures 2012 Ripe Pu-erh

Vintage: 2012 Spring Harvest
Weight: 200 grams
Type: Ripe Pu-erh (fermented)
Production Area: Lao Man'E Village, Bulang Mountain, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province

Teas from Lao Man'E Village are typically associated with an intense bitterness that masks an underlying (and longer lasting) sweetness. But that bitterness is a factor in the raw (sheng) tea, in addition to the usual factors - how the tea is brewed, the quality of the raw material, old trees vs cultivated bushes, etc. Our Simple Pleasures is a ripe (shu, fermented) Pu-erh, and it is made from gushu (ancient tree) material. Quality ripe teas lack any bitterness, as is the case with this tea.

The name "Simple Pleasures" is printed on the wrapper, 清歡 (qīng huān, literally "simple joy"). It is taken from a famous poem by Song dynasty poet Su Shi: Huanxi Sha – Fine Rain and Slanting Wind Bring Morning Chill. It was written in 1084 and ends with the line "The most delicious flavor in the world is pure, simple joy." The poem is about the simple pleasure of enjoying tea in a natural setting. You can feel that when you drink this tea. It is smooth, soothing, and sweet. The cha qi of this tea is simply sublime.

Here is the English translation of the poem. Enjoy it as you sip:

Fine rain and slanting wind bring a chill at dawn,
Light mist and sparse willows grace the sunny beach.
The clear Luo River flows into the Huai, spreading far and wide.
White frothy foam floats on top of the midday tea,
Tender smartweed and mugwort shoots adorn the spring platter.
The truest flavor of human life is pure, simple joy.

In the early Song Dynasty, when this poem was written, the style of drinking tea was to whisk powdered tea in a bowl, similar to modern matcha. Hence the "white frothy foam" floating on the tea.