Aged Premium BudsGuyu-season buds · Traditional Hong Kong storage

In early times Yunnan’s bud pu-erh was top-grade tribute tea for the imperial court. The story goes that the court picked all the buds first, and only what remained could be picked and sold by ordinary people; hence premium buds, also called “Palace Buds”. Only the imperial household could drink them, and they were a mark of status. Premium old buds are made from extremely fine young shoots, smaller than the heart of a lotus seed. Output was always low and it is no longer made in quantity. This one comes from the Menghai tea area in the 1980s: Guyu-season buds, sieved for tips and hand-sorted, made part raw and part ripe (about 80% raw, 20% ripe), and kept dry in traditional Hong Kong storage ever since.

Aroma: a steady aged aroma with a thread of refined old ginseng; the fragrance comes back in the throat and stays. Liquor: amber red, with a sheen. Taste: mouth-watering on entry; fine, smooth and soft, full and sweet. Gentle and mellow. Finish: saliva and sweetness in the throat, with a long-lasting returning aroma.