Tutu, who invited us to his home on Bulang Mountain (布朗山), pours pu'er tea (普洱茶) for us before we head out to check out the tea fields and the ancient tea trees by motorbike. Tutu has been in the tea business for only two years, but he is working studiously to make up for his lack of experience. He buys tea by the kilogram from his neighboring producers to taste and study in order to improve his own craft. In honor of our visit, he poured us a tasting of laobanzhang (老班章) 'green' pu'er tea (生茶) made entirely from ancient tea trees (古樹), which he told us sells for 1,200 yuan ($175) per kilogram. Next to it, we tasted his own leaves, which he sold this year for 60 yuan ($8.78) per kilogram. To our surprise, our untrained taste buds preferred Tutu's blend, which we found to be much less tannic and therefore more pleasant. Unlike most other teas, pu'er generally improves with age. I would love to compare both teas again after they've been aged for five or ten years!
