This tea is rich, earthy, nutty and densely flavorful, as thick and dark as coffee, yet exceptionally smooth. in the mountains of southwest yunnan is a forest containing semi-wild tea plants, many of them centuries-old and as tall as trees. the local people have been making organic pu-erh tea from these old-growth tea trees for many generations. the unique "bowl" shape is termed tuo cha, achieved by traditional pile-fermenting, pressing and drying techniques. brewing: fill a tea pot half way with boiling water, unwrap the paper covering and place the tuo cha piece in the pot. wait a moment, and then discard the water - rinsing pu-erh tea helps mellow its character. bring water to a rolling boil, pour immediately onto the tea, and cover with a lid. steep for five minutes, then strain the tea while pouring. the leaves can be steeped again for a second serving as rich as the first - it's impossible to oversteep this tea. each piece can be used to brew two steepings for a total of four 6-oz. servings
