Today’s tuo cha turned out be more ripe puerh, this time with chrysanthemum (菊花熟沱). One lesson I learned about this one, even before drinking it is to use a tea strainer (the sort you place over the teacup, not to be confused with an infuser). The little bits of flower petals sneak their way out of my gaiwan :|
First steep was ok, a bit light since the tuo cha didn’t break apart.
Second steep is much stronger (yeah it finally broke apart), the ripe puerh and chrysanthemum kinda blend into a coffee like flavour. I noticed this before when I had a similar tuo cha from DAVIDsTEA (which was raw puerh, with bad instructions).
Third steep had a really strong flavour, and was a little bitter (I don’t mind this with puerh). I’m still going at :30 intervals, because the liquor is so dark LOL
Fourth steep, same strong flavour but a bit smoother.
Five and six, I don’t think the tea is awful but I am sure getting sick of chrysanthemum.
About this assortment, through a few ebay postings and another online tea store I can kinda tell by the wrapper colour which one I’m getting. I say kind of because the hue is VERY important. There are quite a few places that sell these assortments of tuo cha.
Including this post, I’ve had 2 tuo cha and they’re both shu. Can’t say I love drinking ripe puerh, but these were enjoyable. Also, I have these little guys inside 2 ziplock bags, and it still has a strong scent. I recommend keeping these away from other tea or scent-sensitive food.
