Kokang Pu'erh Raw 2017

果敢古树生普洱

Harvest
April 2017

Origin
Kokang, Myanmar

A fascinating and rare pu’er from the remote plateaus of Kokang, Myanmar.

Kokang is a remote and mountainous region in northeastern Myanmar that is surrounded by the magnificent Tibetan Plateaus. It shares a border with Yunnan Province.  Due to its remote locationand lack of transportation, Kokang remains undeveloped, and therefore its ancient and bio-diverse forests that have an abundance of wild growing arbor tea trees, are left undisturbed.

We have tried a few pu’erh from Myanmar on our sourcing trips, but none of them left a strong impression. Most of them were bitter and overly smokey, most likely as a result of inexperienced craftsmanship of the tea leaves.

This pu’erh from Kakong changed our view of Myarmar pu’erh.

It is made by a young craftsman Li Jiakuan, an ethnic Dai-Chinese who lives in Kokang with his family. To learn the traditional craftsmanship of making pu’erh tea, he went to Menghai, Yunnan and learned with a master for 6 months. Upon returning home to Kokang, and with the new knowledge and experience he has learned, he made four small batches of pu’erh, each from a different village and region. This one from Kokang was a stand out.

This pu’erh is crafted from leaves of 200 years old arbor trees in the ancient and wild forests situated at 6000 ft above sea level. As a result of the primitive varietal of pu’erh trees and the unique terroir in Kokang, this pu’erh is soft and gentle, with unique floral notes that are reminiscent of a fine white tea.

It is a delicious and unique pu'erh, with an abundance of life force and richness. On the nose, it has floral and honey notes. The liquor is a deep golden hue, the mouthfeel is smooth and medium-bodied. It is floral and sweet with hints of apricots and tobacco.

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Brewing guide