How is Shou Puerh Tea Made? We tour a Menghai Wodui Factory. 

I got a new video coming up this Friday from Hekai!

You're more than welcome! Thank you for watching.

We really do try to be as educational as we can. This stuff fascinated us and we're trying to continue learning new things each year.

Thank you! I'm glad we were able to share.

My best was a diamond looking rhinestone gem that probably fell off some workers clothing.

Hopefully someday we can. We have to find the right material first.

@@CrimsonLotusTea Coming back to this comment 5 years later. Did you ever have any cakes made at this facility?

😅🙏🏻 Glad the tea was good!

Possibly! I just need to find 1,000kg of sheng puerh I'm willing to sacrifice and then pay him. It's not a cheap proposition.

Since shou is, philosophically, the poor (or impatient) man's route to aged sheng, and the wodui process changes the character of the material, isn't it true that the top grade sheng - that which would be considered a real sacrifice - isn't what is truly required? I'm not suggesting lowering the Crimson Lotus standards, so much as suggesting as far as shou is concerned, the bar is not inherently expected to be set the highest. Therefore, perhaps blending some merely decent with some pretty good material could get you to 1000kg affordably, and still yield a product on which you will be proud to put your label - particularly if the wodui is conducted by a true master as it would appear you have found.

I say the previous as a genuine fan of shou, and I often blend embarrassingly inexpensive shou 25% with 75% mid grade dayi and have very enjoyable sessions. Maybe I'm just one of those who gets a kick out of finding ways to be frugal, but still find enjoyment.

I know exactly what you mean. You're not wrong, but things have changed a lot shou puerh wise in the past 5 years or so. I think shou puerh (in certain cases) has really come into it's own as a specialty product. I don't think that the main goal of shou puerh is faking aged sheng puerh anymore. It's more than that. Were we to commission an entire wodui fermentation we would choose material well suited for both the process and our standards. Well made shou puerh from quality material is an impressive thing.

Absolutely. I have some high end shou that knocks my socks off every time, but perhaps that's because they're not my daily drinkers. I guess it depends on your target market and the tier of quality/price you want to achieve, and you certainly know your particular market better than I. Unless you believe this wodui master can produce a genuine enhancement of the starting material, your own palette and investment capital are telling you that you are thinking of using/sacrificing material best processed as sheng. I know you know your stuff re; blending of grades, my only hope is you find the right combination to get the project going and be both a critical and commercial success. Very best regards.

This was shot with a Canon Vixia HFR72. Nothing fancy, but it works well for us.

My guess would be when the leaf material was just picked. These remote farm villages are rustic and there are chickens running everywhere. I'm guessing a kernel fell in somehow. They also dry a lot of corn by hanging it outside. Maybe a piece fell off as they were carrying a basket of leaf around. They may even reuse the carrying bags. Most things like that are caught during the handful of processing steps afterwards but mistakes do happen.

Crimson Lotus Tea I should have kept the kernel. Looks like it had a story lmao

@@kirkoneill725 Some people keep a little jar near their tea table with fun things they find. I found a rhinestone once. :-D

Crimson Lotus Tea ill keep that in mind :)