Da Xue Shan, or Great Snow Mountain in Yunnan, stands tall with a snow-covered peak 3000m above sea level, nurturing some of the wildest and most untamed pu’erh teas you’ll ever encounter. This tea that bursts with fruity aromas of papaya and apricot, and a mellow taste that leaves you pondering the wilderness it hails from.

This tea, harvested at an altitude of 2000-2300m, doesn’t just grow; it survives, and without the aid of people. The locals, primarily of the Li Su ethnic group, have mastered the art of scaling these ancient trees, handpicking the leaves that make this tea so special. When the sun is out in late March, these resilient pickers are gather the leaves that have sprouted earlier than most, thanks to the mountain’s unique climate. Unlike the average tea, Da Xue Shan wild leaves are nearly hairless. Picking these wild, young leaves followed by a quick solar withering and long and sun-drenched drying process, are what give Da Xue Shan its character. This isn’t just a tea; it’s a time capsule of the early spring sun, packed into a cup.

January 15th 2024 Official Tasting and Brewing Observations
6g:330mL (1:55) 2m52s RB was the strongest infusion I could find that had aromatic complexity, desirable mouthfeel and potent flavor. This is the freshest and most autumnal of the following 3 brews, the fruit is apricot.
This tea is somewhat forgiving to brew when being careless of the ratio (within reason) as anywhere from 1:55 and 1:60 will produce a very similar result. The timing of the brew seemed to be the most important (2m45 seconds to 2m52s). Within this 7 second window you can observe a beautiful balance of all aspects, and from my observations this scales linearly along the ratio of the tea:water.

As to how I came up with the above conclusion…

Testing Round 1:
1:55 2m RB has a fruity but vague aroma, ‘translucent aroma’. The tea has bright sour notes, the flavor is citrusy, reminds me of orange scented oil.
1:55 3m RB has a fruity and ‘opaque aroma’. It’s deeper and richer, still somehow bright and sour. It’s in a weird state. I feel the richness and brightness are not aligned. It’s a mess.
1:55 4m RB has a bludgeoning aroma, I don’t really feel anything interesting in the mouth other than oilyness and astringency.
Notes for the above: I’d like to know the cut of point for when the ‘translucent aroma’ turns ‘opaque’. I would also like to know when the brightness is snuffed out. I didn’t really enjoy any of these brews, I consider them all distinctive failures of brewing.

Testing Round 2 (finding the opacity point):
1:55 2m15s RB watery and weak flavor, nothing to say worthwhile
1:55 2m30s RB no comments on aroma, mouthfeel is good, flavor doesn’t feel particularly weak, has a mild astringency with apricot notes
1:55 2m38s RB fruity aroma but hard to place, warm, fruity, easy drinking, saliva turns acidic as its swallowed. develops a weak astringency towards the end, not very grippy.
1:55 2m45s RB no comments on aroma, flavor is more distinctly fruity, this is clearly the best pot of this tea from those I’ve tasted so far today. The strength is fine but perhaps could be better.
1:55 2m52s RB fruity fresh apricot aroma, sweet and pleasant, aroma color is pale orange. It’s autumnal and becomes even more so as it cools. The flavor is rich, chewy, oily and pleasant and gets more apricot-y as it cools down.
> Round 2 using the same leaves still seems autumnal, but jammier. Maintains quality, its not better or worse than the first infusion.
>> Round 3 using the same leaves doesn’t smell interesting, pretty neutral. Has a short time frame where flavor is discernible before astringency overtakes everything. Seems ‘redder’.
1:55 3m15s RB fatty and oily aroma with notes of cumin, homeless people, and sweat. The mouthfeel was dry, oily, hot (heat), and astringent. In the distant finish some fruitiness appears, though it is not distinctive.
1:55 3m30s RB weird oily and neutral aroma. Carries heat, it seems to build up flavors to the finish faster than the previous infusions but it isn’t appealing to drink.
Notes for the above: I didn’t find that opacity point. I guess it must be under 2m08s as none of the above had the opacity issue.

Testing Round 3 (stronger infusions)
1:47 2m52s RB had flavors that were thick, warm, coating, and chewy. There is an abrasiveness in the texture that was unique to this tea vs the other teas in this round.
1:41.3 2m52s RB had a thicker mouthfeel. Didn’t seem as warming. Seems more lubricated~ doesn’t stick to the palate.
1:36.6g 2m52s RB had a very heavy and simple flavor. Can’t really discern anything going on.
Notes for the above: Considering my thoughts here, I think my tasting has gone in the wrong direction. 1:47 was the best of the above infusions, but nothing was as good as 1:55!

Testing Round 4 (weaker infusions)
1:73.3 2m52s RB had an autumnal and leafy aroma. It had a watery flavor, was weak and boring. There was a small amount of sweetness and richness, but compared to some of the earlier pots I drank today, this is a waste of time.
1:66 2m52s RB had a dainty yellow aroma, like buttercup or daffodil. The flavor was smooth and boring. The texture is on the cusp of being what I want, but isn’t quite there.
1:60 2m52s RB had an aroma more orange than yellow, the aroma color matches the tea — pale orange. The flavor was full, sweet, juicy — it had great potency, what lingers in the finish could be seen as papaya, but that is unfortunately not as obvious as it has been in recent years.
1:56.9 2m52s RB had notes very similar to the above 1:60. I guess I can’t tell the difference.

I spent the entire day drinking these 19 pots of tea, both my body and mind reject the notion I can do more. I think I made good progress though, and I believe I understand this pu’erh tea well now. I hope to have help/helped you enjoy this tea better. My friend Daniel at Cafe Jindo has various water additives that apply something like an ‘instagram filter’ to coffee so that it can be seen in different ways. Perhaps one of those additives is what I need to coax out more fruitiness. I’ll find out soon!

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This video displays the tea, if you’re interested in how it looked and the process that was involved in taking the cake apart.

Wild tree Pu’erh from Da Xue Shan (Great Snow Mountain) has a flavor profile centred around ripe papaya and apricot. This is a great tea to help understand the what’s possible within the context of fruitiness in Pu’erh while not breaking the bank. Plum, Mango, Apricot, and Papaya seen to come up frequently as tasting notes for me in young sheng, this particular one as I said, having more papaya and apricot notes.

It was picked wild (not farmed) and came to me compressed into cakes/bing

Cheers