Tangyan Burma Aged Moonlight White Tea Cake Vintage 2018

Origin: Tangyan, Shan State, Burma
Cultivar: Indigenous Assamica Broad-leaf
Elevation: 1200m
Harvest: Vintage 2018

Tangyan is the major town of Tangyan Township in Shan State, Burma. The region is located in the valley of a very mountainous area and is populated largely with the Palaung people who also live in Yunnan Province and Northern Thailand. The Palaung have always been tea drinkers. Historically, every family would grow their own tea bush in the garden, along with fruits like mango and jackfruit.

In more recent years, the aging of white tea has gained popularity, and tea enthusiasts today are attracted to collecting various vintage years. This white tea is not processed with a distinctive heat step and undergoes skillful withering on bamboo mats to ensure the flavors and nuance are expertly preserved. This enables the tea to slowly undergo enzymatic aging, creating new flavors as time passes. In traditional medicine, it is also thought the medicinal effects of the tea are increased through aging. The cake compression allows for ease of storage while aging the tea.  
When handling this aged white tea cake, be sure to rinse before commencing with gongfu brewing. This step will allow the flavor and aroma to develop and shine. This tea can be brewed over the course of a dozen infusions, with each developing new flavors and nuance. We are tasting cherry, sherry cask, honey, fine tobacco with thick and sweet fermentation and sun drying tastes in this cake.