Private Reserve Mrs. Su's Dong Ding

Mrs. Su roasted this tea somewhere around 10 years ago. We picked up a bag from their family's big metal keg where they age teas on a sourcing trip a few years ago. We hadn't really made plans to release any, but we do have enough to share and thought that it would be a greater honor to Mrs. Su's memory to distribute it amongst her American fans than to keep it all for ourselves.

A masterful and at the same time touchingly humble craftsmanship defines this tea. It has aged nicely and gives a very grounded, mellow presentation of what Mrs. Su could do. The taste still has toasty notes for sure, but a lot of the 'hotness' has fallen away to really highlight the stable, earthy nature of her vision. It does not however have a prominent 'aged' taste (i.e. those secondary flavors that develop from slow oxidation over many years, for that I'd recommend the 1998 Dong Ding or the 1979 Aged Beipu).

We loved Mrs. Su so much, and it is a little bit difficult to let go of this tea. But we also know that many of you also loved her - at least through her craft - and we are very very delighted to spread the love by releasing this tea. Three cheers for Mrs. Su!

Facts

• Harvest Location : Dong Ding, Nantou, Taiwan
• Harvest Date : ???
• Cultivar : Qing Xin
• Farming : From a garden regularly tested by SGS as having 0% pesticide residues