Learning how to identify gu shu & make maocha - The Tea Urchin

„Mr. Gao showed us how to identify gu shu (ancient tree) tea leaves by looking at their texture, rubbing them between your fingers, and eating them raw. Old tea trees produce thicker, more leathery leaves that don’t easily come apart when you rub them. And gu shu buds should be white & shiny. When you chew them, the flavor is very bitter but there is also a strong sweet fragrance, and the juice is relatively easy to swallow. Tai di cha (terrace plantation tea) is also bitter but with a strong, lasting astringency on the sides & front of the tongue, and the juice is harder to swallow.“

„Once dry, maocha can be sent directly to the factory to be pressed into raw pu'er, or to undergo further processing to make ripened pu'er. Sometimes Mao Cha is sold directly as loose-leaf "raw" Sheng Cha or it can be matured for 2–3 years in loose leaf form due to the faster rate of natural fermentation in an uncompressed state. This product is then pressed into numerous shapes and sold as "raw" Sheng Cha as a more matured final product.“