Kun Lu Shan

Classification and Origin

Category: a market-reputation category at the upper, village level (村寨级), not a distinct variety according to the letter of the standard. Legally, such tea remains sheng pu-erh from the corresponding GI area; its value is conferred precisely by its origin from a specific semi-cultivated grove.

gǔshù 古树 (半栽培) — old trees under a semi-cultivated regime. Within the track's tree typology, a sequence is established: gǔshù 古树 (old trees), dàshù 大树 (large trees), yěshēng 野生 (wild), guòdù xíng 过渡型 (transitional type), and bàn zāipéi 半栽培 (semi-cultivated).

Origin: Ning'er County (Níng'ěr 宁洱), Pu'er Prefecture-level City (Pǔ'ěr 普洱), Yunnan Province — meaning not in Xishuangbanna or Lincang, but in the actual heartland of "Pu'er" itself within the province. Most star villages of the track cluster around Menghai, Mengla, and Shuangjiang, whereas Kun Lu Shan represents an old, historically "courtly" center of tea culture near the administrative center that gave the drink its name.

Type: sheng pu-erh (生普) — "raw," unfermented in the shu pu-erh style.

Brewing

soft, around 95 – 100 °C; boiling water does not "break" the leaf here, but the first infusions should be kept short.

a guideline of 7 – 8 g per 100 – 110 ml.

a quick rinse, followed by a series of short infusions with gradual lengthening.

old semi-cultivated raw material endures a large number of infusions, softly yielding sweetness into the later steeps.

Teaware: gàiwǎn 盖碗 or a small-volume Yixing teapot, to control each infusion.