Heather LeBlanc
2y ago
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Cao Gen (2011 Spring)
MyTeaPal Club
- Type
- Sheng Pu'er
- Origin
- Bulang Mountains, Menghai, Yunnan Province, China
- Cultivar
- Da Ye Zhong
- Elevation
- 1600m
- Steeping instructions
- 100˚C/212˚F. Rinse once for 5s. Gongfu style, 1g : 25ml, 10s+5s. Western style: 1g : 80ml, 2min+1min. Aged teas tend to last many infusions and are suitable for being boiled after steeping, in order to extract the most content from them.
- Description
- Cao Gen 草根 literally means grassroot. The producer gave this tea the name in 2011, but it’s by no means just an ordinary tea and cannot be overlooked. It’s made from tea trees in Bulang Mountains that are over 100 years old, and the cake was loosely compressed, allowing more contact with air for transformation. It’s been stored in Zhongshan, Guangdong since 2011, and it has aged a bit more quickly under a high humidity environment compared to many other places.
Shipped in January 2023
Member posts
Christian Wicks
2y ago
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
- sweet
- cocoa
Myr
3y ago
Meant to post this yesterday. Not my favorite puer, although I am new to them. It just didn’t really develop much. But it did have a solid taste.
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Erik Ellestad
3y ago
The storage is strong with this one.
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Kurt Johansen
3y ago
Working through additional sessions of January Club teas. Got February teas yesterday, so need to make room 😀
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
2nd time with this tea and still not a fan. It's incredibly earthy with a lot of dirt, wood, and moss notes. Smells of the mulch aisle at a hardware store. That said, I'm conflicte… more
- earthy
- dirt
- moss
- musty
- wet earth
- woody
- (slight) sweet
Dulce
3y ago
A week ago I was in a meeting where this tea was tested. I didn't have the tea with me at that time, but I remember Radoslawa mentioned that the tea was flat. I understand now what she meant. I think it's an interesting… more
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Maria
3y ago
What an… interesting… tea to say the least. My first time trying a wet storage tea so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The dry leaves smelled musty, like a wet basement, and at first, it tasted woody and like wet earth. I b… more
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
A very odd flavor. Still not sure if I like it or not, but at least it’s interesting. It gets better with each infusion.
- earthy
- musty
- peat
- woody
- wet wood
- dirt
Erik Ellestad
3y ago
Cao Gen apparently had very different storage from the Sichuan storage of the Mangfei Dashu!
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Katrina J. Herren
3y ago
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Matthew
3y ago
An awesome showing from another of this month’s teas! I love Guangdong storage and this is no exception. Lots of depth and earthiness that persists through the infusions, opening up to a bit of fruitiness later! Truly… more
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club
Eyes - Dry Leaf: deep brown leaves and hairy buds Nose - Dry Leaf: moss/mushrooms, old wood, and a hint of early developing camphor Nose - Wet Leaf: root vegetables (rutabaga?),… more
- rutabaga
- moss
- old wood
- mushroom
- menthol
- camphor (developing)
- dried apricot
Vincent
3y ago
This tea transformed the greatest extent compared to the other 3, due to its loose pressing and Guangdong storage (with higher humidity than usual).
Cao Gen (2011 Spring) from MyTeaPal Club