Origin

China

Asia

Caffeine Level (mg/1g)

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41+

Description

1999's Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Pu'erh – 20+ Year Aged Menghai Pu-erh

A true collector's treasure, 1999's Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Pu'erh is a robust, ripe Chinese pu-erh harvested from semi-wild arbor tea trees in Menghai, Yunnan, in 1999. After production, it was dry-stored under specialized care at China's state-owned tea factory in Kunming, where it quietly aged for more than twenty years. The result is a mellow, exceptionally smooth 90s vintage pu-erh with flavors of dark bourbon and a honey-like sweetness.

Every step of its creation honors traditional pu-erh craftsmanship: plucking, pan-firing, rolling, drying under the sun, packing, wo dui (wet-piling) fermentation and, finally, long-term aging. This careful, time-honored process — combined with leaves from semi-wild arbor trees — gives the tea its remarkable depth and purity.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: highly aromatic, like fallen leaves gathered in a damp autumn pile, with grassy notes, dusty old trees and hints of camphor
Flavor: mellow and robust with dark bourbon depth and a natural honey-like sweetness
Liquor: clear, bright and super smooth
Texture: silky and round with no astringency at all
Character: unique, layered and deeply satisfying

Why You'll Love It

Tea varietal: semi-wild arbor tea trees from Menghai, Yunnan
Vintage: harvested in 1999 and aged over 20 years
Storage: carefully dry-stored in Kunming for a clean, refined profile
Purity: 100% pure and natural, with no added flavors or fillers

Aged pu-erh of this quality and provenance is increasingly rare. Each session offers something new — from the earthy, autumnal aroma to the sweet, bourbon-like finish — making it a rewarding tea for connoisseurs and a memorable experience for anyone ready to explore vintage pu-erh.

How to Enjoy

For the best tea-drinking experience, we recommend using a gaiwan and enjoying multiple short infusions, letting the flavor unfold from one cup to the next. If stored properly, this tea will continue to age beautifully; maturity will only bring out its smooth, mellow character even more.

Savor it slowly, share it with fellow tea lovers, or set some aside to enjoy as it grows even finer with time. 1999's Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Pu'erh is a genuine piece of pu-erh history in your cup.

Make it your kind of cup

ready, set, steep.

A great starting point. Adjust the strength to suit your taste.

011 TSP or 1 BAGScoop your leavesAdd tea to a roomy infuser or teapot.
0295°C200mlJust add waterPour water over the leaves at the suggested temperature.
031.5 - 3 minGive it a momentLet the tea steep, then remove the leaves.
04Your perfect cupSip and enjoyTaste it plain first, then make it your own.

A little steeping tipBefore the first cup, rinse the leaves briefly with hot water and pour it off. Pu-erh can be steeped many times — each cup smoother than the last.

Details

Preparation:

Use 1 TSP or 1 BAG per 200ml of water at 95°C and steep for 1.5-3 min.

Ingredients:

Thé Pu'erh

Reviews

Write your own Review

Jean Pierre Cardinal

August 2025

It tastes to me exactly like an old leather belt smells...in a good way. My first pu-ehr, offputing at first then after a few sips I was smitten.

Ryan Kearney

July 2024

My favourite tea on the site so far

Ryan Kearney

July 2024

Something like my 30th tea from this site so far and definitely my favourite

Richard Waskiewicz

June 2023

This is a very nice pu'erh. I found it earthy and satisfying. For context, my favorite (non-flavored) tea is Irish Breakfast style. It's easy to over-steep this ripe pu'erh - but I still like a rich flavor, so I typically bring the water to 200 then take ~1 tsp/350ml and steep for 3 minutes. On the second steep, I'll let it sit for 5 minutes. A third steep is possible, but by then most of the rich flavors I enjoy are gone - although it's still a nice mild tea. Highly recommend, but be sure to watch the steep times closely.

See all 20 reviews

Lorrie Richeson

May 2019

My favorite so far.

Dorothy

December 2016

I really like this tea. Normally I find a slight bitterness in pu erh teas but this is very mellow and sweet. There is a smoky wood flavour about it. And the second brew is as delicious as the first.

Stephane Dudart

March 2016

Sweet wetland to the taste. This is how tastes a chinese pu-erh but this one is really sweet with a lightly smoky odor. Perfect.

Jonathan

May 2014

This is my favorite Pu erh. It reminds of a rich glass of bourbon. Very complex, hints of honey, and just strong enough. I find the 5 year old naked Pu erh to to be too weak, and the 1980's Liu Bao tastes like dirt. This one is just right.

Also, the longer you steep this tea, the sweeter it gets. Leaving the tea alone for an hour or more is just fine, it won't get bitter.

Dext

April 2014

I was drinking this at work yesterday. This is really good – unusual, for me anyway.
I’m not even sure how to describe it. WOW smooth is where I want to start. Mellow, gentle, barely pu’erh. It’s just a touch earthy – and I don’t know what the rest of the flavor is, but I like it. It’s not really a black, it’s barely pu’erh, but it still has lots of flavor – just different from anything else I’ve tried.
I would consider getting more of this so that I can play with it some more.

Huma Arshad

March 2023

This was my first time trying this type of tea and I am not a fan of the notes. The notes are woody, smokey, and muddy. I didn't find that it gives me same caffeine kick which Matcha Iri Sencha and Creme Earl grey Pureh do.

Simon Haiduk

December 2021

Mild though very high caffeine!
This has a really smooth mild flavor, but packs a serious caffeine punch.
I give it a 4 because the flavour is a bit lacking on its own, but I've also been enjoying mixing it with Harmoic Arts powder mushroom blends that have various flavours and it's perfect for that.

Les

September 2017

It's been a year now since I began drinking this tea and it's still my favorite of the pu'erh I have tried. I just bought more as my supply was dwindling and was happy to see it was still available. I live with n a very dry environment so it is difficult to age raw pu'erh properly so tea like this is perfect. I've switched to a gaiwan and I'm glad I did. It doesn't take long to develop the one hand technique. Recommended.

Les

October 2016

This has quickly become a favorite pu-er of mine. It has a nice balance between fresh turned soil, leather, sweetness, fascinating aroma. I love smelling the lid of my teapot after brewing. I usually get four or five steeps easily before it starts to fade. I begin at 2 minutes and increase 30 seconds for each steep.

Kasper Vendler

January 2024

Smeels a tiny bit of "dried squid" but actually much more like a ton mushrooms. It dosn´t have much taste, despite me brewing 8 grams of it in 300ml teapot for 3½ minuts with allmost boiling water.

At second brew with the same leafs for more than 5 min, it tastes: less intense, except more of wood and much less of mushroom, it seems a lot better through.

Its not the sweet woody tastes that im used to for well aged quality whiskey or rum, but more like a really dry and slightly bitter shallow spectrum woody taste, like unaged schrubbery wich is less perferable compared to what im used to from other mediums.

Ripe pu´erh tea is infamous for being bad unless its pretty expensive, for the price of this tea, i recon it to be a decent deal, but still not what i hoped for.
Hence 3 out of 5 stars.

Kris

July 2017

Very earthy smokey flavour. Slightly bitter and almost a savoury taste. Bought this on whim to try out new types of teas. It's not quite for me so I won't be buying it again but it was interesting to try.

Kevin Wright

July 2024

Tasted very very fishy. I only got half way thru the first and 2nd infusions before dumping both out after a few sips.

Paul

March 2017

Maybe I got a poor batch, but when I opened the bag, I was hit with a strong moldy smell. I found the tea itself rather gritty (even on the second steep). Given the others' positive reviews, I must have just gotten unlucky.

1999's Rare Wild Arbor Ripe Pu'erh