Tuo Cha

In China fermented teas are known as dark teas or hei cha. They are produced in a few provinces but dark tea has generally become known in the West as puerh. Puerh is a town in the province of Yunnan, South West China, where dark tea was traded before being transported on the Tea Horse Road to Tibet. The making of dark tea in Yunnan is steeped in history, dating back over 1,000 years, and puerh tea from this area now holds a GI accreditation, meaning only tea made in Yunnan using the assamica variety of tea tree can be called puerh. The name tuo is thought to have derived from the shape of this tea meaning bowl or nest. The tuo cha is very tightly compressed and has been produced by the sheng method so it will continue to mature slowly over time with the flavour becoming sweeter, smoother and more mellow.

The tuo cha is carefully made by artisan tea producers using skills past down through the generations.To create them, a raw form of green tea is first made called moacha. The moacha is then very briefly steamed for a few seconds to make it pliable and then compressed into the tuo cha shape. The mini nests are then left to age naturally for at least 2-3 years as per the sheng, raw or uncooked method

The mini nests have been individually wrapped to maintain freshness.  Please always remove the paper wrapping before brewing.
Tuo cha will yield multiple infusions.To do this :  on the first infusion only steep for 1 minute and then discard the liquid. By doing this you are “waking the leaf” and enabling it to infusion fully therafter.Then brew at 100c for 2 minutes at least 6 times more and note how the flavour changes!

Please note the paper wrapper and shape may differ from the one in the picture.