2017 Yunnan Sourcing "Tofu Village Rooster" Mini Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

Hello hello!

Earlier this year, Yunnan Sourcing released a 100g mini-beeng of Mengku Sheng Puer — ‘Tofu’ Village to be exact. According to Yunnan Sourcing, this tea was pressed from 2017 autumn sheng material, and was pressed later on in the year. It was harvested from 20-30 year old plantation tea trees that grow naturally without the use of pesticides. However, this tea is $5.00 USD per a 100g beeng. So for the price, is this tea worth bothering with or is it going to be an unexpected surprise? Lets find out!

Demensions - 4.3g of tea for a 65ml gaiwan

Beeng Price - $5.00 USD for 100g

Water Temperature - 190ºf

Number of Steeps - 14

Steeps 1 - 6

Tofu first started out light and medicinal, and left a freshly cut green grass aftertaste on the tongue. After a few more steeps, a broth-like texture arose from this tea’s body, which gave off a cotton-like mouthfeel. Despite the thick mouthfeel, there was a light undertone of sweet moss that lingered in the back of the throat.

Steeps 7 - 14

Tofu continued to press on as its thick body seemed to mellow out a bit, but still retained its medicinal backbone. Its green grass tasting notes from earlier turned richer, which best resembled an autumn leaf pile. By the tenth infusion, this teas texture turned from cotton to oil along with a light sweet undertone. However, by the fourteenth infusion, this tea was finished and I was ready to move on…

Conclusion

2017 Tofu Village is a autumn sheng puer sourced from 20-30 year old tea tree material from Mengku, and is from Yunnan Sourcing. One thing I liked about this tea was how clean and clear the material was. Another aspect I like about this tea is its surprisingly thick texture — especially considering this tea’s price point. Although I didn’t get a lot of qi (energy) from drinking this tea, it proved to be a relaxing session nonetheless.

Overall, Tofu is a great daily drinker that’s easy to drink and hard to over steep. I think that new tea drinkers will find this sheng to be very accessible. I also think this was worth the $5.00, and turned out to be an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise! Although Yunnan Sourcing didn’t pay for this review, or send me this tea for free, I can say that this was a fun experience and is one Ill look forward to having again in the future.