2025 Velvet Mountain Purple Tea Cake, Bulang Mountain 200g

'Velvet Mountain' is our first Teasenz-labeled premium purple tea cake crafted from leaves of the Zi Juan (紫娟) cultivar. Its mouthfeel and lingering complexity are truly unique and fascinating.

• Premium material: the tea leaves are handpicked from old trees in the Bulang mountain (1500m) during early Spring of 2025. They belong to the first harvest of the season, offering more flavour and nutritional value (higher antioxidant content).
• Optimal aging & stone-pressed: the harvested leaves are carefully processed in maocha (unfinished tea) and stored in loose form for several months for uniform aging. Afterwards, they were steamed and manually stone-pressed in September 2025. The applied processing method is the same as for raw pu erh tea.
• Beautiful & secure packaging: Each cake is wrapped in a double layer of paper for enhanced protection and optimal further aging of the tea. Five cakes are packed in another layer of paper and wrapped with bamboo sheets to make sure the cakes don't get damaged during transportation and storage. The packaging label is designed and drawn by artist Suyi.

Learn more about the packaging design philosophy of this tea cake.

Purple Tea Tasting Notes

Read our tasting notes below based on the following steeping parameters: 3.5g of tea steeped the traditional way with 100ml of water per steep at 100ºC. 

• 1st–2nd steep: The liquor immediately presents a golden colour with a distinctive purple-green hue. The aroma offers herbal notes, with clear hints of mint and sweet camomile. On the palate, it is sweet and creamy, with a velvety sensation. The tea has an incredible lingering aftertaste. The rich fragrance lingers in the empty cup, while the wet leaves themselves release a sweet, almost savoury perfume of wild herbs and wildflowers.
• 3–4th steep: The flavor deepens and strengthens, revealing a satisfying complexity. Distinct notes of chicory and an olive savoury umami note now emerge. A licorice-sweet aftertaste beautifully balances a pleasant, delicate astringency. A light woody note appears, and the strong aroma is intensely refreshing and cleansing to the palate. Meanwhile, you'll feel the strong Qi (tea energy).
• Steeps 5–6th: The liquor transforms into a mellow and round experience, taking on a beautiful, aged golden hue. The savory olive umami and chicory notes remain, but are now softer and more rounded. The mouthfeel becomes exceptionally velvety and rich, while the lingering aftertaste is amplified, now showcasing sweet notes of ripe fruit.
• Further steeps: In the latest steeps, the mouthfeel is even mellower; the taste remains sweet with an umami touch. The aftertaste still lingers for several minutes, leaving your mouth pleasantly clean and lemony fresh. The aroma and the overall sensation remind you of a pleasant herbal tea blend you would drink on a relaxing evening.

Velvet Mountain is a special addition for any tea lover. For beginners, it provides a smoother and more accessible taste relative to the more bitter young sheng pu erh tea. For seasoned connoisseurs, this cake offers a captivating complexity, setting it apart from classic raw pu erh with its rich profile.