Hide

Welcome to Steepster, an online tea community.

Write a tea journal, see what others are drinking and get recommendations from people you trust. or Learn More

Grand Shou Pu-erh 1997 from Red Blossom Tea Company
100

I don’t work for the Red Blossom Tea company or own stock in them I just keep finding delightful treasures there and I usually only rate teas this high that I think I would be anxious to do without… this is one of them. :)

This was the boyfriend’s choice but he knows what I like. I had one infusion of 90 seconds and subsequent infusions of 20-30 seconds. I was drinking this last night and this morning I had to do a reality check to see if it was as good as I remembered.

If you’ve ever had a golden yunnan you know something about what this tea is like. It’s malty, chestnutty, sweet and creamy in addition to earthy! I do not detect much camphor here if any. It still has that pu-erh twang that comes with the aging process but this is now almost 15 years old and is delightfully mellow. For me this is a real treat that redefines my conceptions of what a pu-erh can be. Of course I am still newish to this sphere but if I had to pick one shou to keep on hand at all times this would no doubt be it.

I had the Emperor Pu-erh a few days ago and I am finding this one to be very different but the quality is there for both of them. I love the cleanness of these teas. I only wish they had small samplers so people could try the whole lot for a bit of a smaller price. Of course I am fortunate that I live in San Francisco so I can just go there. Yay!

People who liked this

Dinosara
Charles Thomas Draper
Indigobloom
K S
LiberTEAS
Dorothy
Angrboda
Stephanie
Winter Salo
E Alexander Gerster
Thomas Smith
Relmaster

Comments

Charles Thomas Draper
Charles Thomas Draper 2011-12-17 12:08:33 -0500

Yummy

Amy oh
Amy oh 2011-12-17 12:59:19 -0500

It is!

Charles Thomas Draper
Charles Thomas Draper 2011-12-17 13:10:06 -0500

I am still drinking yesterdays Sheng. It has staying power

Amy oh
Amy oh 2011-12-17 13:18:14 -0500

Have you tried cold brewing the leftover leaves?

Charles Thomas Draper
Charles Thomas Draper 2011-12-17 13:52:29 -0500

What I do is brew as I normally do and then take the liquid and the leaves and transfer it into A Mason jar for an overnight cold brewing. My point is that the tea has weakened so I do what I can to make it stronger.

E Alexander Gerster
E Alexander Gerster 2011-12-22 09:21:51 -0500

Your description makes my mouth water… I had not heard of Red Blossom Tea Company until this week, reading the reviews here on Steepster of their Pu-erh teas… then saw a short segment on them on the most recent Lidia Bastianich Christmas special on PBS. I guess the universe is trying to tell me something! :) They look to carry some of the most beautiful Dragonwell teas, which I might have to try when the new crops come in.

Amy oh
Amy oh 2011-12-22 18:07:33 -0500

Wow, I did not know they were on TV! You should check them out – my only complaint with them is they don’t offer smaller sampler packs!

E Alexander Gerster
E Alexander Gerster 2011-12-22 19:45:03 -0500

On Dec. 20, there was a show called Holiday Tables and Traditions which you can now watch online: http://video.pbs.org/video/2175964061/
The segment on San Francisco and the Chinese New Year featured a few minutes at the Red Blossom Tea Company. Very interesting! I wish they offered smaller sampler packs as well… Maybe they will see our posts! :)

Charles Thomas Draper
Charles Thomas Draper 2011-12-22 20:30:54 -0500

I am happy with them. Great tea. Great service. Very fast delivery. Thank you Amy for turning us on. E Alexander I have to watch the show….

Amy oh
Amy oh 2011-12-22 21:04:47 -0500

Thanks for the link! I’ll check it out for sure!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

My profile pic is of a pink dahlia at Golden Gate Park.

Hobbies include: tea, making art, animals, vegan things, buddhism, nature, creativity, books, writing, cooking, meditation, yoga.

I am a fan of many different teas but my favorites are blacks and oolongs, also like darjeeling and pu-erh. I’n always learning and expanding my horizons!

Dislikes include: bergamot, jasmine, highly tannic or bitter teas, overly judgmental and bitter people. :)

Live in San Francisco, I’m a SINK (single income, no kids) and love the urban life, but traveling out to the middle of nowhere is always fun too.

I tend to not drink things I know I will hate so a lot of my tea ratings are on the higher side. Here’s my rating system, sorta

95-100 I love this tea and would like to keep it around

94-90 An excellent tea which I may or may not repurchase

89-80 Pretty good, above average

79-70 Acceptable

69-60 Mundane – Will probably drink it if I have it

59-50 Ick

49 and below Nasty

Location

San Frandisco

Website

http://sanfrantea.teatra.de

Following These People

Brett Floyd
Brett Floyd

Musician and avid te...

TeaEqualsBliss
TeaEqualsBliss

Near Vegan. Tea Lov...

Jenn
Jenn

I'm an animal loving...

RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas
RachanaC (Rachel)-iHeartTeas

A lover & provider o...

teabird
teabird

Some notes on rating...

Cofftea
Cofftea

*Are you a company o...

Ewa
Ewa

I'm a Pole who grew ...

LiberTEAS
LiberTEAS

I am obsessed with t...

EmyPouliche
EmyPouliche

Hi, I'm a tea lov...

Mercuryhime
Mercuryhime

I came from a tea dr...

Winter Salo
Winter Salo

I love tea, I love t...

Cherie C Davidson
Cherie C Davidson

I am an online write...

Erin Hurley
Erin Hurley

New to tea. I make a...

momo
momo

bears love tea

MaddHatter
MaddHatter

I love to read and w...

E Alexander Gerster
E Alexander Gerster

I have been drinking...

See More