Fermented Pu'er XianLingZhi, GongTing Bingdao 20 years old

Naturally caffeine-free. Twenty years of fermentation have completed what nature started: the caffeine has almost entirely dissipated. This Pu'er can be enjoyed at any time, after dinner, late at night, without agitation or second thoughts.

GongTing grade, buds only. In fermented Pu'er, GongTing (贡廷, literally "imperial") refers to the finest sorting: only intact buds are selected, recognizable by their golden color and velvety surface. For this XianLingZhi, selection is manual, bud by bud, from the harvests of thousand-year-old tea trees in Bingdao.

Selected directly from Yunnan producers. We have been working for over thirty years with the same producers in Bingdao, in Mengku. The trees from which these buds come have lived for centuries: their roots plunge so deep that they have never needed human intervention to nourish themselves. We harvest with them, we select with them.

Virtues in Chinese medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, a fermented Pu'er of this age is associated with deep internal warmth and digestive support. Tradition attributes to teas from ancient trees a more grounded, long-lasting energy, which classics traditionally associate with the spleen and stomach.

Pu'er is a traditional beverage, to be enjoyed as part of a varied diet and a balanced lifestyle. It is not a substitute for medical advice.

Bingdao is located in the Mengku mountains, in the heart of Lincang, Yunnan. The village is home to tea trees of rare longevity, some over a thousand years old. These are gushu (古树): trees that have lived through dynasties, centuries of mist and monsoon. Their roots descend so deeply that no one irrigates them, no one fertilizes them. They grow on their own, as they always have.

This XianLingZhi was harvested twenty years ago, then fermented and preserved under conditions that allowed it to mature unhurriedly. The tannins have mellowed, the wood has acquired a patina, and the roundness has taken over. It is a tea that has had time to become what it was meant to be.

A tea of this density requires little material. Boiling water, 95 to 100 °C: Shou Pu'er loves heat. Low-mineralized or spring water brings out the finesse of the GongTing grade.

In a gaiwan, to explore each infusion. Five grams in a 100 to 150 ml gaiwan. Boiling water, no rinsing: our teas are clean and pure. First infusion ten seconds, gradually extending. This tea lasts fifteen to twenty infusions, revealing a new layer with each round. This is how it gives its best.

In a tea ball, for the day. Three grams in a ball, one liter of boiling water, three to four minutes. The ball can be reused two or three times by extending the time. Simple, clean, without ceremony, and 50g last a long time at this dosage.

In a teapot, preferably Yixing clay. Four to five grams per liter, three to five minutes to start. The porosity of Yixing absorbs woody aromas over successive infusions: a teapot dedicated to this tea acquires some of its aromatic memory over months.

In a thermos, for the office. Three grams at the bottom of the thermos, boiling water. The sweetness of this aged GongTing resists long infusion without bitterness: the liquor remains stable from morning to late afternoon.

This Pu'er has already been aged for twenty years and continues to improve. The woody aromas refine, the roundness intensifies, the liquor becomes richer. Store it away from light, humidity, and strong odors: coffee, spices, household products. An odorless ceramic, wood, or tin box works perfectly. No airtight plastic boxes. Time works for you.

The liquor is dark, deep, almost black, with a surprising transparency. On the nose, aged patinated wood, dried date, a touch of cool incense. On the palate, the roundness is immediate, ample, enveloping, without the slightest astringency. Notes of soft leather and forest earth follow. The finish is long, marked by a gentle warmth and a lingering sweet return. No bitterness, no harshness: only depth and time.