2007 Dayi V93 Ripe Puerh Tuocha (250 grams)

The V93 ripe tuocha is a well-known and loved ripe puerh from the Dayi (aka Mengha) Tea Factory.  First released in 2005, Dayi produced this tea with the intention of offering an elevated shou puerh in a tuocha format.  Typically tuocha teas are known to be somewhat inferior to caked teas, but this particular formulation was made in part to dispel that idea.  

Dayi used quite small leaves for this tea, with a lighter fermentation to preserve some of the stimulating qualities of raw puerh.  The compression is also fairly light, which frankly is much appreciated as prying open tea from a tuocha can be really challenging sometimes.  

This tea has been very cleanly aged in Taiwan.  The aromas of the dry leaf reveal classic chocolate and dark fruit leather notes (cherry), while the wet leaves give a bit of brandy, almost fruitcake-like aromatics.  The liquor is quite smooth with a bit of a crisp, snappy feeling to it.  There is a bit of a chocolate quality in the background of the infusion, but overall this aged V93 is more of a dark fruit vibe.

Each tuo is 250 grams.