Camel's Breath Pu-erh Tuocha

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 nest
Water: 16 oz filtered boiling
Tool: Adagio IngenuiTEA 16 oz
Steep Time: 30 seconds – I counted out loud, I did a quick rinse with hot water first.
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: not much
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea
Flavor: mild black tea, smooth sweet and a little earthy
Body: Light
Aftertaste:
Liquor: translucent light brown

I got this as a free sample (it was a limited time run announced May 25 on twitter @WorldofTea) and it arrived today. It arrived with an adorable brewing card that has space for notes. As seen in my prior Company Review, the shipping, packaging, and customer service of this store is impeccable.

I of course choose this tea for it’s name. To my surprise I am enjoying it very thoroughly, I was expecting a novelty tea. A very light mild, earthy and sweet black tea.

Resteep: 16 oz filtered boiling, 30 second counted aloud
Dark brown translucent, more medium bodied, still a sweet, perhaps a bit earthy / briny tea

I am positive I can get more steeps, but it’s bed time, let’s see how the IngenuiTEA holds the leaves overnight in the fridge?

As you may be able to see it held itself together well the first time, the second time it mostly crumbled.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/chicago-tea-garden-loose-leaf-pu-erh.html

Thank you to Paul for sending me one of these cakes to try. I have actually had it for some time now, and I apologize to Paul for not trying it sooner – it wasn’t because I didn’t appreciate it, because I do! I must admit though, I was intimidated to try it. I generally get that way with most Pu-erh. But… none more than one called “Camel’s Breath”

Very brine-y, earthy aroma and that does translate into the flavor, although I am finding that the flavor is considerably more mild than the aroma – at least it is after a very short steep. It is mellow and sweet, with a very smooth character. A somewhat savory note in the distance. Almost like it beckons me to add a grain of salt or two to bring that out… A very intriguing tea to say the least.

Before I rate it and write a longer review for SororiTea Sisters, though, I will put it through a few more infusions and see what comes of it.

Thanks again Paul! Let this be a lesson (for me, if for nobody else) – don’t let the name of a tea influence you from experiencing it.

This one caught me with its name alone, so let’s hope I like it! Fortunately, it seems I do. I did four steeps, starting with 45 seconds and eventually making it out to 2 minutes. Each steep produced a very dark brown liquor with a red tinge. The most remarkable thing I found about this tea was how soupy and savory it seemed to me. It has a very full, chewy mouth feel, and I can’t help but feel that I’m getting lots of nutrients from it. It’s not one I’ll have everyday, but I do like it and am glad I have it in my cupboard.

I did take a camel ride in the middle east once but I’m not sure I could tell you what their breath smelled like. This tea with its shitake mushroom and peat smell might come pretty close. I did a 30 second first steep. First steep is light and soupy with a hint of caviar at the end. 2nd infusion 45 seconds and much darker, thicker and soupier with a sharper aftertaste.

My first experience with Pu-erh was a bit frightening. The tea was fishy and had an odd color and was simply a turn off. My wife has since taken to calling all of these teas Poo-air.

Since then, I’ve had much better experiences with Pu-erh and this is the best so far. This was my first time using the tuocha form, but it was fairly intuitive. It’s a small pressed capsule that looks like a plug of used chewing tobacco. It’s soft enough that you can crumble off what you need with your fingers.

This tea brews to almost black with a very faint “slick.” I describe the fragrance as “oceanic.” Unlike what the name would lead you to believe, I really picked up less camel territory and more shark. There’s a definite kelp and seaweed presence and, as CTG’s tasting notes mention, it’s definitely briny. As it matures, you begin to pick up faint notes of clean hay and a sweet, peat-like earthiness.

What was unusual (and somewhat pleasant) about this tea is that there seemed to be a constant play between sweet and salty. One sip might start out sweet and move towards salty and the next is the reverse.

On the second and subsequent infusions, the tea leaves the ocean for land. It does become more mossy and sweetens even further. When I first saw the size of the tuocha (slightly smaller than a quarter) I didn’t think it would go far. However, this was made for multiple infusions and you have to go past four or five to experience the entire taste range.

I received a sample of this yesterday. It’s good enough that I’ll keep some on hand from now on.

I used boiling water with a 15s rinse and a 30 second infusion (about 6oz water).

The taste is good. Earthy, slightly salty, and quite smooth. Unlike some other tuocha I’ve tried, this one doesn’t leave my throat feeling dry. It’s definitely more mild than the aroma indicates, which isn’t a bad thing. I am quite pleased with it.

Tea Prep:
1) Broke apart the tea cake
2) Rinsed tea in boiling water
3) First infusion was a bit too long (about 1-1.5 min) and was a little bitter
4) Second infusion (normally the best anyways) was for 30 seconds with slightly cooler than boiling water

The second infusion was awesome! This Puer is very rich, smooth, and sweet. As I noted above, I steeped for too long the first time which may have added to the slight bitterness, but even this was not totally unpleasant as it added a slight smokey flavor to the tea.

The fourth steeping (at 30 seconds) began to get a bit lighter, but it was still enjoyable. When I get back home I’m going to infuse it another 3 or 4 times to see what kind of result I get. I tend to allow long periods of time between steepings sometimes (1-6 hours), but I’m not sure how this effects the flavor – it normally works out well, though!

Note:
5th infusion I left it for about 2 minutes in order to get it a bit darker. No bitterness at all, but a little bit weaker than the previous infusions. Still great, though.