I went to Raleigh to pick up ChelseaR’s dogs as she goes on a trip. I picked up her key from my daughter who let me choose one tin from my birthday stash, but I wasn’t allowed to see the labels. I decided on the tin with the silver bow even before I knew it was puerh.
Hubby and I shared it tonight. I didn’t know what to think about their instructions – a TABLESPOON of leaf for eight ounces of water. And four to five minutes steep in boiling water! I followed their instructions on leaf but not time and had very satisfactory results.
I thought the tea would be black as pitch with so much leaf. I didn’t time it but kept an eye on the color of the steep. It was dark, but not pitch like some I have had. I thought at first that meant that it wasn’t going to resteep well, but it did.
The verdict tastewise is – no fishy, no horse poopy, mostly earthy with a high almost metallic note, which I love. Perhaps that is the camphor sometimes mentioned with puerh because it is almost a minty coolness. It has a great round mouthfeel, full flavored and medium bodied. I am pretty excited to see what those other two Leland Tea tins hold!
