Skip to main content

Shou Pu-erh普洱熟茶

pu-erh · Yunnan, China (primarily Menghai, Kunming)

Shou Pu-erh is a pu-erh pu-erh & dark tea from Yunnan, China (primarily Menghai, Kunming). Brew it at 100°C with 6g of leaf per 100ml of water; expect up to 11 short infusions in a small gaiwan or teapot. A quick rinse is recommended.

Quick facts

Origin
Yunnan, China (primarily Menghai, Kunming)
Category
Pu-erh & dark tea
Cultivar
Yunnan large-leaf (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)
Oxidation
post-fermented
Roast
None
Water temp
100°C
Leaf ratio
6g / 100ml
Infusions
up to 11
Rinse
Yes

Tasting notes

Shou is the tea you reach for when you want to stop thinking. Two rinses — non-negotiable, and the second should be a real 15-second flush, not a splash. That's what clears the wo dui dust and wakes the leaves. Cheap shou tells on itself immediately: a fishy, pondy, sometimes barnyard smell off the rinse water. Dump it and buy better tea. Clean shou smells like damp forest after rain, wet bark, dark cocoa, a hint of date syrup. The liquor pours black-red and coats the cup. In the mouth it's thick, almost soupy, with a sweetness that sits low — molasses, old wood, mushroom broth. No bitterness, no bite. Just depth. Shou is nearly impossible to ruin once it's clean — boiling water, long steeps, it just keeps giving. If you want to learn pu-erh without getting bullied by young sheng, start here. It's the honest entry point.

Flavor profile

Accelerated fermentation produces a tea that mimics decades of natural aging in weeks. The brew is dark, thick, and smooth with earthy, loamy flavors — forest floor, mushroom, and wet bark. Good shou avoids the 'fishy' pile taste of cheap production and instead offers clean sweetness, dried date, and a velvety mouthfeel. Extremely forgiving to brew.

Terroir

Same source material as sheng, but pile-fermentation is the defining step

Cultivar: Yunnan large-leaf (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)

Brewing

Rinse: Rinse twice — first quick flush, then 15 seconds. This cleans pile-fermentation dust and wakes the compressed leaves.

  1. Quick rinse — pour off immediately.
  2. Steep 1: 8 seconds
  3. Steep 2: 8 seconds
  4. Steep 3: 10 seconds
  5. Steep 4: 10 seconds
  6. Steep 5: 15 seconds
  7. Steep 6: 20 seconds
  8. Steep 7: 25 seconds
  9. Steep 8: 30 seconds
  10. Steep 9: 40 seconds
  11. Steep 10: 50 seconds
  12. Steep 11: 60 seconds

Use boiling water without hesitation — shou is nearly impossible to overbrew. Double rinse is standard practice. Extremely resilient to oversteeping, making it ideal for beginners.

Aroma & taste

Aroma

  • earth
  • mushroom
  • dried date

Taste

  • earth
  • mushroom
  • sweet
  • dried date
  • wet bark

Processing

  • withered
  • kill-green
  • rolled
  • sun-dried
  • pile-fermented (wo dui, 45-60 days)
  • compressed into cakes/bricks/tuos
Start brewing Shou Pu-erh

Sources