I got my David’s Tea order and I was really excited—one of the things I got was the Golden Pu-erh. I was really excited to try it since I’d never had a pu-erh before, so it was going to be a totally new tea experience. I opened up the bag of tea and the smell of citrus hit me immediately. “Yummy. This must be why they call it ‘Golden’ Pu-erh.” The cup was delicious, though not what I was expecting. Not earthy. More green. Citrusy, not musty, like the packaging mentioned. It was a head-scratcher of a tea drinking experience.
So I started to look at the little catalog that came with the DT order. I flipped back to the Pu-erhs to see what else they had. I liked this one, so I bet I’d like other ones as well. I glanced at the Golden Pu-erh entry. Not a single citrus peel in sight. And the leaves looked curled, like whole leaves. Not like the cut leaves in the cup I brewed.
Further investigation (looking at the page on green teas) tells me that apparently what I got was the Countess of Seville instead. It looks pretty similar to the picture, and now that I’m paying attention on my second steep, the flavor does remind me of an Earl Grey.
Luckily, I like this tea. I’d be really annoyed if it were some awful tea that I hated. I can’t wait to try it properly steeped!
ETA: Doh! Further investigation, plus the discovery of a berry of some sort reveals that this is not Countess of Seville, rather, I believe it is Some Velvet Morning.
I’d contact them – If they mis-shipped they will likely send you the real deal and maybe a sweet bonus to butter you up!
I did email them, right before writing the review. I totally wouldn’t mind being buttered up with a few more samples :)