Ma Tou Yan "Horse Head Cliff" Rou Gui 2024

A True Zheng Yan Cliff tea from Ma Tou Yan 马头岩 "Horse Head Cliff“.

The garden is situated under five rock formations that is thought to resemble five galloping horses. Since tea from this garden enjoys a lot more strong rays of sunlight and for longer periods of time, the resulting tea is a lot more powerful, deep, and minerally. This Rou Gui was given a dark roast to better display the characteristics of teas from this garden.

 Brewing Recommendations:

Start out with less and the gradually increase grams to find the optimum brew. Sometimes less is more, especially with the powerful Yancha teas, as it allows proper judgement of all the dimensions. I usually use 5 grams in a 100 - 120ml teapot, each steep with boiling water and decant within 10 - 20 seconds. The full 8 Grams can be very intense but also very enjoyable. Just remember to decant immediately within 2 to 5 seconds. 

Ways to tell is the color of the brew. Usually a deep golden hued orange is an indicator of a in middle of the road and balanced brew. Darker crimson red might indicate a lot stronger and bolder brew.