This is from the Fine Tea list at Southern Season. It is a loose leaf pu-erh. The taste is what you expect a pu-erh to be…earthy and horse-y. This smells just like the air when I take my daughter to horse camp! Don’t get me wrong – I LIKE pu-erh, but that is what it smells like to me! Horses and freshly plowed earth. The taste is purely earthy, no horse-y flavor…I guess, since I can’t say exactly what horse-y would TASTE like.
This one is lighter in color, body, and flavor than the Pu-erh mini tuo cha that I bought from the same source. This would be a good way to ease into pu-erh if you are afraid! Personally, I think I like the stronger one better. I take it without sugar or milk. It really does make me feel better if I have indulged in a meal that is too fatty to digest comfortably. It soothes the tummy. I have read that it is because this tea helps block fat absorption in the intestines and it may contain pro-biotics. Perhaps pu-erh tea was drunk by the Tibetans because their altitude makes veggie growing difficult and they eat a lot of meat? I know they add yak butter and salt to replace calories and sodium lost in the high, cold mountains near Everest as they climb in their heavy clothing. Maybe I should find a local source for yak butter (or just find an unattended yak at a petting zoo – LOL!) to try it the authentic way! You can steep it longer if you wish, I drank it from a gaiwan and it did not get bitter as the leaves stayed in the cup.
