Okay, so, I have never had a pu’erh tea before. I’m a reformed coffee drinker (3 cups a day) and I am still a little out of my element here. Completely happy and joyful about exploring the world of tea but still I’m like a giddy kid in a toy store. I want to try and try different teas all the time. It’s become an obsession.
I was a bit scared of pu’erh because who wouldn’t be scared of a tea that can smell like rotting fish. But it is one of the last teas I had to try from my order and it did smell good in the tin. I don’t know what the heck I was scared about because pu’erh is amazing. I steeped it 3 times because today was crazy and then my hockey team was playing and I can’t watch hockey without tea—it’s a luck thing.
1st Steep:Thankfully no fishy smell. It smelled like a really good dark roast coffee. Very earthy. It tastes that way too. But without the bitterness I associate with coffee. There was also a nice natural sweetness that I loved. The coffee bean lent a subtle flavor that was easily distinguished from the tea itself. More nutty than coffeeish.
2nd Steep: Still tasty. Less earthy and more sweet with more coffee bean nuttiness. It was the perfect balance of earthiness and sweet.
3rd Steep: The sweetness almost started to overpower the rest of the flavors. It’s reminiscent of brown sugar or molasses. I can barely taste the coffee bean which leaves the pu’erh to really take over.
I was initially very skeptical about pu’erh but I love it. I want to try more and more. Especially one without flavoring because I really like the flavor of the tea. Any suggestions?
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Verdant has some absolutely fantastic unflavored pu’erhs—I am particularly in love with the Cornfields one!
I may have to bust a paycheck there. All of their pu’erhs seem so yummy.
Verdant got me started on the unflavored ones, I wish they still had the Yanxin’s Reserve nuggets, that would be my top recommendation if they were in stock!
I am currently eying their Xingyang 2007 Shu but I am almost afraid for fear I ruin it in my newbieness.
The Yanxin Reserve nuggets sound so good with the vanilla and caramel notes. Does Verdant tea often bring back their out of stock teas?
I’m thinking my next big tea order will be all pu’erh. Why was I drinking coffee again?
And I couldn’t resist anymore so I bought the Xingyang 2007 and a bunch of others. I have no willpower.
Verdant has a great selection, so does Mandala tea. I also love this coffee pu’erh from David’s, so tasty!
Mandala is going to be my next tea order. All Pu’erh. Should I order it loose or a cake? Does it matter?
Verdant has some absolutely fantastic unflavored pu’erhs—I am particularly in love with the Cornfields one!
I may have to bust a paycheck there. All of their pu’erhs seem so yummy.
Verdant got me started on the unflavored ones, I wish they still had the Yanxin’s Reserve nuggets, that would be my top recommendation if they were in stock!
I am currently eying their Xingyang 2007 Shu but I am almost afraid for fear I ruin it in my newbieness.
The Yanxin Reserve nuggets sound so good with the vanilla and caramel notes. Does Verdant tea often bring back their out of stock teas?
I’m thinking my next big tea order will be all pu’erh. Why was I drinking coffee again?
And I couldn’t resist anymore so I bought the Xingyang 2007 and a bunch of others. I have no willpower.
Verdant has a great selection, so does Mandala tea. I also love this coffee pu’erh from David’s, so tasty!
Mandala is going to be my next tea order. All Pu’erh. Should I order it loose or a cake? Does it matter?