88

I spent all afternoon with this one yesterday and it is my first pu-erh in probably 2 years or so. The only other experiences I’ve had were from David’s and a local store-bought one, both of which I PASSIONATELY DESPISED. Why would I want to drink stinky fish-dirt tea?!

Just wanted to give a background on my lack of good experiences with this kind of tea. The thing is, I love trying new things and I didn’t get how so many people love pu-erh when I absolutely hated it. I decided to give it another go. And this time purchase one that I had carefully screened for offensive fishy notes.

The dry loose (no cake on this one) leaves are tightly rolled, dried, almost powdery-looking. They are dark with lighter golden-brown hues mixed in. I don’t know how other pu-erh teas feel, but this one was heavier in my hand than the loose leaf black teas I am used to. It smelled a bit like a blend of dates and earth, but not in a moldy way if that helps (sorry!).

I brewed it with my lovely and delicate TeaVivre gaiwan and the steeped tea is a deep red-brown clear liquor. It is very aromatic with more of the prominent dates and earth fragrance- almost reminds me of piles of leaves after the rain.

The initial flavour is straight up walnut (with the shell and all) blended with a brown sugar sweetness. It still has the earthy background, but it makes it feel thick and full-bodied on the tongue instead of like a dessert. I followed the brewing directions exactly for this with 30/15/30/45/2 min/5 min and each time I was able to enjoy the walnut, brown sugar, earth combo, though it became notably weaker towards the end. I didn’t give this a higher rating only because I was desperately looking for the vanilla/cream/camphor notes described on the WP website and I didn’t find them. That said, I still really enjoyed it. Next time I am going to try Western style brewing and see if I can find those missing notes. As many of you know, I love true vanilla and even the faintest taste would be wonderful in a tea that is already a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon.

TLDR version: I used to think I hated pu-erh. Now I don’t. This one tastes like walnuts, brown sugar, and earth. :)

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Dates, Earth, Walnut

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 30 sec 3 g 3 OZ / 90 ML
Fjellrev

I’m glad you had a pleasant experience! Count me in as still being in the Pu-erh Tastes Like Stinky Fish-Dirt club, which colloborates with the Smoky Woodsy Forest Covered in Moss club at times too.

looseTman

Congrats on your first enjoyable shou! Welcome to the dark side! There’s no return!
Missing notes: What type of water are you using?

Nightshifter

Haha, thank you! I used Dasani purified water because my city water smells like a pool.

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Nightshifter, if I looked up your order correctly, you’re an hour away from one of the most healing springs in the world. I’d recommend getting a big canister for water and filling up from there. It should produce absolutely phenomenal tea. :-)

http://www.findaspring.com/locations/north-america/usa/indian-springs-indian-springs-state-park-georgia/

looseTman

“I used Dasani purified water because my city water smells like a pool.”

To remove chlorine you may wish to consider the following.
Per Consumer Reports:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/water-filters/buying-guide.htm?pn=0

Carafe water filters:
- Clear2O CWS100A – 93 pts
http://www.clear2o.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Applica-Clear-Water-Pitcher-CWS100A/dp/B00189XOEG
- ZeroWater ZP-010 10-cup and ZD-013 8-cup Pitchers – 70 pts
The Gravitea filter wasn’t tested by CR.

Another convenient option to consider:
Faucet-mounted water filters
- Culligan FM-15A or FM-25 – 80 pts.
http://www.culligan-store.com/product_detail.asp?T1=CUL+FM%2D25&.
http://www.amazon.com/Culligan-FM-25-Faucet-Mount-Filter/dp/B0064MKTE0
- Pur FM-3700B – 77 pts.
– Brita Base On Tap OPFF-100 – 75 pts.

See also:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/water-filters.htm
http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2010/04/cr-finds-10-recommended-water-filters-that-can-replace-bottled-water-.html

For those who have a refrigerator with a built-in water dispenser, most include a replaceable water filter cartridge:
http://www.filtersfast.com/Refrigerator-Water-Filters-cat.asp
http://www.freshwatersystems.com/c-453-refrigerator-filters.aspx

Whole-house chlorine filter:
20-inch Single Canister Big Blue Radial Flow Carbon Whole House Filter – http://abundantflowwatersystems.com/

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Comments

Fjellrev

I’m glad you had a pleasant experience! Count me in as still being in the Pu-erh Tastes Like Stinky Fish-Dirt club, which colloborates with the Smoky Woodsy Forest Covered in Moss club at times too.

looseTman

Congrats on your first enjoyable shou! Welcome to the dark side! There’s no return!
Missing notes: What type of water are you using?

Nightshifter

Haha, thank you! I used Dasani purified water because my city water smells like a pool.

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Nightshifter, if I looked up your order correctly, you’re an hour away from one of the most healing springs in the world. I’d recommend getting a big canister for water and filling up from there. It should produce absolutely phenomenal tea. :-)

http://www.findaspring.com/locations/north-america/usa/indian-springs-indian-springs-state-park-georgia/

looseTman

“I used Dasani purified water because my city water smells like a pool.”

To remove chlorine you may wish to consider the following.
Per Consumer Reports:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/water-filters/buying-guide.htm?pn=0

Carafe water filters:
- Clear2O CWS100A – 93 pts
http://www.clear2o.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Applica-Clear-Water-Pitcher-CWS100A/dp/B00189XOEG
- ZeroWater ZP-010 10-cup and ZD-013 8-cup Pitchers – 70 pts
The Gravitea filter wasn’t tested by CR.

Another convenient option to consider:
Faucet-mounted water filters
- Culligan FM-15A or FM-25 – 80 pts.
http://www.culligan-store.com/product_detail.asp?T1=CUL+FM%2D25&.
http://www.amazon.com/Culligan-FM-25-Faucet-Mount-Filter/dp/B0064MKTE0
- Pur FM-3700B – 77 pts.
– Brita Base On Tap OPFF-100 – 75 pts.

See also:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/water-filters.htm
http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2010/04/cr-finds-10-recommended-water-filters-that-can-replace-bottled-water-.html

For those who have a refrigerator with a built-in water dispenser, most include a replaceable water filter cartridge:
http://www.filtersfast.com/Refrigerator-Water-Filters-cat.asp
http://www.freshwatersystems.com/c-453-refrigerator-filters.aspx

Whole-house chlorine filter:
20-inch Single Canister Big Blue Radial Flow Carbon Whole House Filter – http://abundantflowwatersystems.com/

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I am a registered nurse that worked night shift for years on a catastrophic injury unit. I just started day shift and life is good! Tea is a simple pleasure in a complicated world.

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