Naked Pu-erh

This is a loose leaf pu-erh purchased from Art of Tea. The little sample tins are so cute!

I think this might be the base tea they use for the coconut cacao pu-erh. The aroma of the wet leaf actually reminds me of roasted coffee. It’s very earthy with not as much funky aromas as some I have had. It seems in general that loose leaf pu-erh is less prone to developing off odors. Am I right? Maybe when they get compressed into cakes they are more susceptible to mold. I am not getting anything resembling honeysuckle or floral like the ‘Art of Tea’ description claims.

Not the best loose leaf shu I’ve ever had, but it’s certainly enjoyable on this winter afternoon.

I’m not sure if pu-erhs are my cup of tea, lol. I just had my first steep of this and it’s VERY earthy. Kind of a weird flavor for a tea…but I haven’t tasted every kind of tea there is to compare. It smells earthy too. After steeping it and waiting a little bit for it to cool off all I can taste is an earthiness and at the end there’s a note of mushrooms. It’s the oddest thing, lol! I’m going to re-steep it later b/c others say it tastes better the 2nd and 3rd go around. Hopefully it’s ok if it sits until tomorrow? Anybody know how re-steeping works? I’m not rating this at this time since I’m not sure how to give it a fair chance until re-steeping.