mrawlins2

China Pu-Erh Tuo Cha, Size 1 (ZH30) from Upton Tea Imports

mrawlins2 drank China Pu-Erh Tuo Cha, Size 1 (ZH30) by Upton Tea Imports

Okay, I tried pu-erh at the beginning of my tea drinking…but I didn’t know what to do with it so I just steeped it in boiling water for about 5 minutes. It was HORRIBLE! Then I learned more about pu-erh which made me think “No wonder I hated it!” I have been getting up the nerve to try it again for about a year and a half. When I placed my order from Upton, I must have been feeling adventurous because I added a sample bag of this pu-erh.

This time I did a 30 second rinse which completely broke up the little bird’s nest. I then did a 30 second steep…..the taste isn’t all bad. It was a bit earthier than I expected so I added a pinch of sugar and a tiny splash of cream and wow! I’m surprised that it actually tastes pretty good. I think I’ll try to drink this for the rest of the day!

My rating will be based on the overall feelings of this tea so I will rate it later today. I will probably do a bunch of infusion notes today, so stay tuned!

2011-07-01 11:03:53 -0400

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SimplyJenW 2011-07-01 12:50:06 -0400

I have a sample of this, too. My first pu-erh experience was a bust ike yours, but I am sure I oversteeped. I will have to try the rinse + mini-steep next time.

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Bio

I am a former coffee drinker turned tea lover.

Black tea is probably my favorite type of tea, but I rather enjoy most types… I’m even developing a taste for pu-erh.

Rating Scale:
0-10: This tea is either flavorless or just plain undrinkable. I will avoid these teas in the future.

11-20: I was only able to make it through a few sips before pouring the tea out.

21-30: I may have been able to make it through the first cup but the thought of having another has me cringing.

31-40: Teas in this range are not horrible, but nothing I would seek out in the future.

41-60: Would drink if offered, but would not purchase for myself.

61-70: Okay, nothing special

71-80: Enjoyable, but I have to be in the mood for these. Probably would purchase if I found a really great price.

81-90: Pretty good tea, will probably be one of my favorites.

91-95: These teas are really excellent. I wouldn’t necessarily run out and buy more of these (just because there are so many teas out there that I haven’t tried), but I would miss this tea.

96-99: Terrific, very impressive.

100: This special rating is reserved for teas that are absolutely perfect in my opinion. I will only give out a rating of 100 to one tea per category (Earl Grey, unflavored black, dessert tea, Irish Breakfast, etc). These are teas that I really want to have around.

Perfect Teas so Far:

Earl Grey: Saint Isaac’s Blend (Russian Earl Grey) from Upton

Dessert Tea: Marco Polo from Mariage Freres

Unflavored Black: Emperor’s Red from Premium Steap