This is a small 100g (approx) pressed cake of shou pu’er tea in the “tuo” (bowl/nest) shape, the name is probably derived from the Tuojiang river in Sichuan which used to be a tea trade route. This cake was produced by the Nanjian tea factory in Nanjian a county of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture within Yunnan, China. It was made from grade one leaves which means a picking of small tips and top leaves, with some stems. The tea was grown on Wuliang Shan (mountain) about 2000 metres up in the same prefecture and harvested in 2021 and stored in Kunming Yunnan.

This is on the milder side as far as shou pu’er goes and has a sweet woody aroma with no unpleasant or strong fermented noes. Sweetness is the dominant flavour with a smooth mouthfeel and a light drying aftertaste. Quick brews will give a transparent crimson liquor and no bitterness, but going over 10 seconds will give a stronger, thicker, dark red opaque brew with minimal bitterness.

Each Tuo is approximately 100g though please account for a small margin of error. I recommend using either a specialised Puer knife, a flatnosed screwdriver or a sharp table knife to carefully pry tea from the edge of the brick with a crowbar like motion, you can look up videos of how to crack bricks of tea on youtube if you need help.

I recommend giving this tea a quick rinse before the first brew.

This is only sold in 100g Tuo form, only a few are available though I can order more if you are interested.