• handmade item

• materials: big-leaved arbor tea leaves from Menghai county

• shape: loose leaf

Made with maocha from Menghai in 2014, this shou pu-erh brews dark orange liquor, infused with dates and honey taste. Compared to our other shou pu-erh from 2008, this tea will age and achieve its full potential with some more time.

Chatou means “tea nuggets” whereas laochatou means “old tea nugget”. It is the clustered tea produced during the fermentation process (or wodui) of shou pu-erh. During this time, the pile has to be turned from time to time to reduce the high temperature within and to prevent over-fermentation. Pectin released from tea leaves by this turning motion agglomerates with other leaves within the pile to form chatou. Compared to loose leave shou pu-erh from the same batch, chatou has higher fermentation level and nutrient contents that yields more infusions with richer liquid. This gives an impression that it is more aged, thus the name laochatou, meaning “old tea nuggets”. There is approximately only half a rice bowl of chatou to be found per 8kg pile of shou pu-erh.