Hello Linda,

We are pleased to bring you the Bana Tea Leaf-let, which is published between our periodic Bana Tea Leaf newsletters, to provide you with the most current Bana Tea news.  In this edition of the Bana Tea Leaf-let, we will cover the following three topics:

1. Linda Louie's trip to Yunnan, China to buy more Pu-erh tea and how you can follow her adventures via Twitter
2. Bana Tea introduces a renowned tea cake, the "2001 Original Aroma from Wild," that has been added to it's tea line-up
3. How to tell raw Pu-erh from ripe Pu-erh

Linda travels to Yunnan, China annually to seek out and purchase premium Pu-erh.  She will be tweeting during her trip this year which will take her from Hong Kong to Guizhou to Yunnan and back to Hong Kong between March 27 and April 14, 2010.  If you would like to receive regular updates from her during her journey through the high mountains and tea gardens of the birthplace of tea, just follow Banateacompany on Twitter.  

2001 Original Aroma from Wild (Yuanyexiang)

Bana Tea Company has a new addition to our product line, the "2001 Original Aroma from Wild" (known in Chinese as "Yuanyexiang"). Of the many Pu-erh teas that are produced, only a very select number are worth collecting. This is one. The "2001 Original Aroma from Wild" was an entry in the Wah Shan Tea Review of the "Art of Tea Magazine." This was a blind, unendorsed review of nine 2001 tea cakes and the Original Aroma from Wild was awarded with the "Gold Recommended Tea" title. The 2001 Original Aroma has been described in "Pu-erh Teapot Magazine" as "one of the important collectibles in your Pu-erh collection." It has also been cataloged as a "Renowned Tea Cake" in the reference work "First Steps to Chinese Puerh Tea" by Chan Kam Pong.

The name of this cake, Yuanyexiang, means "the fragrance of the wilderness," describing the aroma of this tea as resembling the natural fragrance of the wilderness.  The wrapper of the "2001 Original Aroma from Wild" has a very unique design (see photo above). There are two versions of this cake: a thin wrapper dry/natural storage edition and a thick wrapper wet storage edition. The thin wrapper dry/natural storage edition is the preferred one.

Although this tea still has a few more years to go before it reaches maturity, it already possesses a very pleasant and elegant aroma, the mouthfeel is full and rich, and the tea's most charming characteristic is the cooling and comforting sensation that stays with you long after the tea has been drunk. This is one of those rare teas that will cause one to delay eating or drinking anything else after consumption as one tries to savor the enduring aftertaste.

If you are interested in trying the 2001 Aroma from Wild, go to the Bana Pu-erh products page of the Bana Tea Company website.  It is available in a 357 grams tea cake and in 50 and 100 grams loose leaf packages.

A Little Primer on Raw vs. Ripe Pu-erh Tea

Those who are new to the delights of Pu-erh tea (and perhaps some who are not so new) may be confused about these two categories.  The following will help you tell the difference.   

Major difference:

Raw:  Raw tea is initially non-fermented and has the same qualities as green tea.  As the raw tea is aged, it undergoes fermentation naturally over time.

Ripe:  Ripe tea has been manually fermented by adding water and heat to accelerate and replicate the aging process.  This process, called “Wo Dui” in Chinese, attempts to create a taste similar to that of aged raw Pu-erh but it seeks to achieve this in several months rather than in the many years that it takes to naturally age raw Pu-erh.

Time takes to achieve full fermentation:

Raw:  10-20 years

Ripe:  A few months

Taste differences:

Raw:  The tea is fresh, vivid and retains the tea’s original flavors.  Aged raw Pu-erh is famous for its flavor complexity, long-lasting after-taste and its "Qi" (energy).

Ripe:   Earthy and mellow.  Aged ripe Pu-erh becomes more smooth and the earthy flavor transforms into a sweet plum flavor.

Color of the brew;

Raw:  Generally golden yellow to burnt orange, depending on the age of the tea  

Ripe:  Dark chestnut  

Appearance of the leaves:

Raw:  The  dry leaves of the raw Pu-erh are large, more intact, and grayish green mixed with some silver tips.