Coffee Pu'erh

I had Coffee Puerh this morning from David’s Tea, I was not bad the Puerh had a nice earthy flavor to it but I had to add sugar to make the flavorings taste good, it was good kinda like dirt and chocolate at first then it balanced out after a second steep it had some caramel hints but still very chocolate, it has whole coffee beans it and I crushed those up before I brewed mine just because I didn’t like the way it looked lol Much to my surprise this tea wanted to re-steep a few more times but after the 4th it was just chocolate taste and very little tea, interesting most “flavored” teas I try tend to make strong “flavors” on 1st steep then loose most of that flavor and do not re-steep well, not so with this one. I had to stop because it was hurting my belly it needs sugar to taste “good” and sugar these days just isn’t good for my belly.

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This deceivingly simple tea with large, dusty black leaves results in a complex final product. The fragrance is slightly musky and earthy but with a creamy, mocha-caramel base.

This brews to something approximating a coffee color. The taste has the sweet, mossy flavor of pu-erh along with subtle coffee and caramel notes and a strong vanilla finish. As the cup cools, you simply have COFFEE. (Yes, you can smell and taste the capital letters!)

I was pleasantly surprised by this tea. I was drawn by the appealing description and it was an honest representation of the tea. I think this would be a great choice for anyone that wants to ease their way into pu-erhs.

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?

Got a tiny bag of this (16g) just because I’d never tried a puerh and this one smelled the best to me (plus I like mates, which are coffeeish at times so this seemed like a good bet). It certainly has a distinct scent from other teas. “Earthy” and “roasty” come to mind and it kind of reminds me of the maltiness of like….rich soil. Not that it smells/tastes like soil. But it has the same rich, malty qualities. Oh lord, this is what happens when I try to explain things…
So I brewed it for 4 minutes with near boiling water and it was VERY dark. Coffee dark, which was nice. It did taste coffeeish, but reminded me very distinctly of the kitchen of my late grandmother who was a heavy smoker. Sort of like…stale coffee and old cigarette smoke. There was definitely a stale, ashy stagnance to it.
Needless to say that while I appreciated the trip down memory lane, I am not a fan of puerh, which is why I didn’t give this an awful rating. I think its hard to accurately rate a tea when I just don’t like the tea type.
It does have a lot of flavour and is quite robust, so I imagine that it would be quite good if you do like puerh.
Glad I got to try it in a small quantity, because now I know and I’m not out a chunk of money with a 25g bag kicking around.

In an attempt to finish (or at least try) all of the 4872876548 samples that I have, I decided that I would make a goal to finish all of the ones that the wonderful Bonnie sent me forever and a half ago (thanks again, Bonnie!).

I decided that since it’s still early (well, early-ish), I decided to pick this first out of my remaining selection as it’s coffee and it fits the theme. I did a quick (15 seconds?) rinse of this to get rid of the the fishy smell and then I brewed at 200 degrees for 5 minutes. This is good! I wouldn’t say I like it as much as the chocolate orange pu-erh, but I like this one a lot! It has a nice and smooth coffee flavor (like when you get iced coffee and it tastes like coffee but without the harsh bitter edge to it) and it also has a nice caramel flavor to it. This is good! Actually, the more I drink it, the more I like it! This will definitely be going in the basket with my next DAVIDsTEA purchase! I plan on steeping this one again and making a latte (as par Bonnie’s directions). I think that will be heaven on earth!

Thanks again Bonnie!

This should really be called caramel pu’erh! with just a little bit of milk in here, my first few sips of this were… heaven. Liquid heaven!!
Smooth, caramelly, just the right amount of sweet with no added sugar at all… mmmmm.
However, as the cup cooled, I began to enjoy it less and less. I started to get vanilla, which I really don’t enjoy all that much in tea. I was able to finish the first cup, but grudgingly so. I also got a little bit of fish, as I do with all the other DT Pu’erhs.
The second steep was ok. Surprisingly, the first one was better.
This infusion was much fishier, and less on the smooth. *shrugs
Anyhow, I’d have it again though I’m not sure I’d be willing to pay for it!

i can smell the chocolate, caramel and almond flavour. this one is better than the rest of davidsteas pu-erh’s at least. but that’s not really saying much.

they do flavoured and fun teas so well. for example their oolongs are always enjoyable. so it seem strange to me that davidsteas made an entire collection of pu-erhs and somehow managed to suck all of the vibrancy and poetry out of the leaves. like a white tea or some jasmine pearls, even if the tea isn’t the best harvest ever it can still be good. it can still put you in touch with nature and have some depth.

i procrastinated and procrastinated drinking this coffee pu-erh for a very long time cuz i was dreading how bad it might be. but honestly, it might be the better of the pu-erh set. so if you like davidstea and you wanna drink pu-erh, pick this one or chocolate orange. but also, go buy some pu-erh somewhere else too. and keep giving it a chance.

Ugh!! Soo not my cup of tea!!! It smelled like fishand tasted like fish and i dont like to eat fish much less drink it. It was my first purea and to be honwyt im scared to try another one i dont know why i tasted and smelled fish their were no other flavors just fish and tea taste. I do enjoy coffee alot tho

I brewed this in my to go mug this morning, and I have to say that I loved it. I thought the dry leaf smell was really odd, but when I tasted it I went woah! Yummy! I didn’t get any fishy puerh flavor out of it, just warm and earthy with some caramel and coffee. I finished the whole mug in an hour, which is great until you are sitting in class realizing you just rapidly downed 14oz of tea…

I’m starting to be impressed by DavidsTea. I’ve liked the last few flavors I tried and might even be tempted to order more of this Coffee Pu’erh when it’s gone.

A while ago, I brewed up some Cafe Puer from Lupicia which is basically the same concept as this tea. I liked it a LOT, but then when I went on the website I saw that it was discontinued. Well, that’s what I get for drinking older tea. So when I saw David’sTea had a very similar tea, I knew I would have to get it. I stopped in on my trip to New York and picked up a small amount.

I brewed some today, and I think I didn’t use the right leaf ratio because it’s pretty weak. I can definitely taste the coffee notes, but it’s more like water with coffee essence. I bet there’s more to this tea, I just have to use more leaf next time. Until then, I’ll hold off on a rating.

This is the one downside to having small amounts of tea. You don’t really get a lot to play with. But with all the teas I wanted to try at DavidsTea, there’s no way I could justify buying 50g of each. Oh how I wish I lived close or at least closer to a DavidsTea.

I was a little scared to try Pu’erh due to coming across many that describe a fish like odor and taste to it. But the earthy, dirt taste that some described intrigued me to get some.
I am not sure why I chose this one for my first pu’erh but I was on DavidsTea for the first time and this one caught my eye. I am thinking due to the coffee flavoring and the idea of having another nice breakfast tea.
The tea comes in a nice mylar resealable pouch. The tea is very dark with whole coffee beans in it. The aroma smelled of chocolate and almonds. Not the strong fake amaretto liquor flavoring but like roasted almonds. To my delight there was no fish smell!
This tea brews up nice a dark, like a cup of coffee. I added cream and sugar to it. I should of tried it straight but that is how I drink my coffee mostly and I wanted it like my coffee.
You know how you tip up the hot tea and the steamy aroma fills your mouth and that is your first taste? That was where I got a faint taste of very fresh sushi, a mix of extremely fresh tuna and mild seaweed. Not really strong but it was there and it was so quick I might not have noticed if I had never read any reviews on pu’erh. Once the tea liquor was on my tongue I tasted creamy chocolate, then almond and then caramel. Some how I missed any coffee flavor though. The aftertaste was very earthy, I am not sure I would describe it as tasting like dirt but the taste was very pleasant, not bitter. With subsequent sips the sushi taste goes away, still no coffee taste. This tea did dry my mouth out a little after each sip.
Overall pretty good, but I don’t think I would purchase it again.

An offering from the Sweet Indulgence sampler…

I have mixed feelings going into this. I really like coffee, but haven’t had it in months. But the fishiness of pu’erh is kind of a turnoff. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE seafood, but not the old-fish-outta-the-water smell it can sometimes have.

Brewed 3 grams in 8 oz. of water and waited to cool down some. I can taste some fishiness, but it’s not bad enough to not drink the cup. There’s a slight sweetness to this brew, unlike actual coffee.

I added a touch of milk and found that it’s very nice with the addition.

Resteeped for 6 minutes. Added sweetener and milk and found that I like this version the best, even though the coffee pu’erh is sweet enough on its own. The additions tend to bring out the sweetness and muddle the fishiness.

So yet another swap with Brandy3392 I must say that she has been awesome every time that I have swapped with her. This is maybe the third offering that I have tried from DAVIDsTea. I’m thinking I may have to start trying some more. There are many teas that I have seen described as coffee teas to try and emulate the taste of coffee…or coffee type drinks. For those of us love our coffee as much as we love our tea. Or are trying to get us to kick the coffee completely. Most of them I have tried are very good and equally as tasty…but don’t quite have it spot on. Until now! Spot on I am loving this tea! The chocolate is great but doesn’t take over the tea. There is a coffee essence that really makes this tea, and yes the schnozberries taste like schnozberries ;) After seeing what that means in the urban dictionary I don’t know that’s a great comparison but I’ll run with it. With all that being said the Pu-Erh is not masked either like in some other flavored Pu-Erhs. Ahem. Uh(cough) The Pu-Erh is a little more earthy/musty than others I have had but still an amazing tea. So far I been able to get 3 great steeps out this one. The fourth one is where I lost the flavoring, but the base tea was still great. Absolutely a teagasm tea! I think I’m going to be trying some more offerings from DAVIDsTea

Mmmmmm, warm and cozy, this is!

The dry leaf on this one definitely is stronger and sweeter than when brewed, though I think that is generally pretty normal. But steeped, it was rich and earthy with a bit of sweetness. As I tend to do with my darker teas (and oh boy is this dark!) I added milk and sugar. I sent a picture to my friend who also go this with me last night, and without anything, it really does look like it could be coffee. I bet it is one awesome latte. :)

This one has potential to be restocked when my 20g bag is up. I’m not sure if I like this better, equal, or not quite as much as compared to Oh Christmas Treat/Chocolate Orange, but I do like it for sure.

Strange — but delicious. Wow. I dared myself to order this one, because my first reaction to the ad copy was ‘Blech! That sounds terrible!’ But it’s not. Deep, a bit sweet, almost heavy. No astringency. No maltiness (oh my, imagine coffee beans with Assam: hurl!). Just one delicious fusion, straight out of The Tempest: ‘Has suffered a sea-change into something rich and strange.’ Want to try this one with a bit of stevia later. Would probably stand up nicely to milk.

Weeeird. Good? Interesting. I don’t know, guys. Strange stuff. Was v unsure about coffee flavoured tea (dnw watery coffee!) but this was very flavourful. I understand why people call pu-erh “fishy” becuse, uh huh. But it’s not bad? It sounds like it should be, it smells like it should be but I don’t know, it’s kinda homey and mellow and soft…… and I’m absolutely boggled as to how to rate it. Resteeped it, still boggled.

I only purchased 10g of this today, as I am noticing I have a lot of teas in my cupboard from DAVIDs that seem to get forgotten or lost simply because they are not my “cup of tea” (pardon the pun)

This one smells like a coffee lovers dream come true, if they were ever to branch out from coffee. I have the cream in the fridge in case this one needs a little help. I also should mention that I only put in a tsp of this tea into a T-sac, as I find most of DAVIDs teas are slightly over powering in flavours. I have just enough left that if I need that other 1/4 tsp for the next cup it will be there.

The tea makes me think of Sunday afternoons reading a book on my Kobo while rain pelts the window behind my reading chair.

More on the taste after it finishes steeping.

I don’t quite taste the chocolate or caramel notes, but this is a tea I will certainly place on my purchase list, I will need more of this one. I might add a little cream just to see how it plays with the chocolate and caramel notes in the tea.

Went to the store today for my $1 iced tea hoping to have the Long Life Oolong but they were out of that so I grudginly took this one. I wasn’t sure I was really interested in it but figure hubby could drink it since he really loves his coffee. Apparently I was wrong. He only likes iced tea the way I make it and with lemonade in it. Ugh. I hoped he was up to new things. Guess not.
Anyway, I wasn’t really fond of this to begin with. It was somewhat bitter to start and I found the coffee flavour was overwhelming. I didn’t get the chocolate like the girl in the store promised. I really didn’t think I would get any of this one and would not try it again. But after over an hour in my cup I really started to like this one. I will have to try it hot with some milk since I really think that the reason I wasn’t enjoying it was that it was cold. Guess I need to get a small bag and try it hot.

Do NOT steep for more than 2 minutes. Like the other reviewers said, this one is best steeped for a shorter time. Otherwise, that pu’erh flavor is “too much”. But w/a brief steeping, this approximates a coffee flavor and the pu’erh adds an extra dimension of flavor.

Thin-tasting. Definite sweetness. Rounded, somewhat artificial flavour. Coffee taste really comes out near the end of the sip. Has a watered-down coffee taste to it. I think that I may simply just not be a fan of coffee beans in my tea- I like the bold and creamy taste of actual coffee. Feels heavy and acidic down my throat.