With our own curiosities ushering us toward this one, we are bundling together another one of our favorite brew sessions to nerd out on: a pu'erh tasting set that highlights and contrasts teas made from trees of various ages.

Ever wonder what all the hype on 古树 Gǔ shù chá is about?  Skeptical that similar if not indistinguishable results could be found in more affordable teas made from trees of lesser ages?  Think finding good xiao shu tea is complete hogswallop?  Want to test those theories about leaf/stem/leaf vein judging that only tactile access to the teas could provide?

We made sure the teas in the tasting set share all the other variables that would typically intersect during taste testing: the tenacious terroir of Nannuoshan, the producer and her processing techniques, and the time of harvest (early spring of 2020), so that any differences your senses detect can be accurately attributed to the age of the tea tree.

The set features 3 shēng chás: one made from ecological shrubs/ 小灌木 xiǎo guànmù small trees in the 30-40 year age range, one made from 中树 zhōng shù "middle" trees planted 80 years ago, and one made from bonafide Shitouzhai 古树 Gǔ shù in the age range of 200 to 500 years of age.

We'd be interested to hear what you discover, whether it be previously held opinions affirmed, suspicions confirmed or debunked, or complete surprises that come unearthed.  Have some fun and enjoy these teas, hone your taste testing acumen, as well as receive a bit of a package deal when you grab these teas as a set.

Whereas this set allows the tasting subject to focus on tree age, we've also got a testing set that focuses on tasting what time does to a sheng pu'erh that juxtaposes our 2018, 2019, and 2020 Nannuo Gǔ shù chás.

Read more about the producer of this tea (including an interview), and our selection of her Nannuo teas here.