"Da Lan Yin" Style Aged Sheng Pu-erh Cake, 357g

A raw (sheng) pu-erh cake made in the style of "Da Lan Yin" (大蓝印, "Big Blue Seal") — one of the best-known recipe names in pu-erh, originally associated with a Kunming Tea Factory design from the 1990s and widely reproduced since by different producers under the same name, the way "7542" refers to a recipe rather than one specific batch. Treat "Da Lan Yin" here as a style and label design this cake follows, not a claim that this specific cake was pressed in the 1990s — that distinction matters for pu-erh in particular, since recipe names and actual pressing dates are two different things.

Sourced from Menghai County, Yunnan, from old-growth (gushu) tea trees, spring harvest. Pressed as a standard 357g qizi bing (七子饼) cake — the classic seven-cake tube format.

Aged for a meaningful stretch already, with the mellowed, woody depth and long, lingering sweetness raw pu-erh develops over years of proper storage, while still carrying real structure rather than tasting flat. Brew hot — 95–100°C — with a short first infusion (around 5 seconds is enough to start), lengthening each round after that.

Suits a gaiwan, clay pot, or yixing teapot equally well.