Ancient Trees Organic Pu-erh

I was quite perplexed with this tea. A worker at Peet’s told me that this was one of the more sought after ones at their location. The tin felt heavier than the other teas, and for good reason: the leaves were compressed as is customary for pu-erh teas. The tea bricks themselves smelled very earthy (not the typical pu-erh “earthy”) and bitter. I got a more pungent smell when I actually brewed it.

Brewed Tea:
The color of the brew was very dark, even after lightly “rinsing” it with a miniature steeping. It started off as a light pink, but as the brick dissolved, the pink turned into a reddish-brown within seconds. This fascinated me quite a bit, as I had never seen a loose leaf tea change color as dramatically as this before. Then again, the directions called for a much longer steeping than I usually give Pu-erhs.

The taste was as it smelled for the first brew: Earthy, bitter, with an acidic aftertaste. But another element decided to show up as well. It was nutty, and tasted like a bitter baking flour. The after taste was not very pleasing either. I still had a bitter nut flavor in the back of my throat.

Unsatisfied with the first brew, I decided to have a second steeping. After all, I heard so much about this tea from the staff, and one of the locals. And I supposed that the first brew washed the tea enough for a second brew.

The second steeping was MUCH more welcoming than the first. The earthy flavor had become more typical, and more enjoyable. In fact, I quite liked the second steeping. This time, the earthy taste was still present, but the nutty flavor had been replaced by a more vegetal one (very unexpected). This one was more smooth, and the beverage had a slightly lighter color. It was a dark red now. However, I still did not like the acidic after taste.

I brewed the tea twice with the directions provided, and twice using a more traditional method with shorter steeps.

I suppose I’ll rate this tea based on the experience over all. I will not be drinking this pu-erh regularly, as I would with others. The character changed quite dramatically between steeps, and proved to be uneven. This tea was not wonderful, but not terrible either; it was centered in between the two.

Peet’s is really the only chain where I can go and reliably get a decent tea – forget about Starbucks or that other place, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I didn’t even know there was a Peet’s pu-erh until I went in there this afternoon nosing around.

This maybe not the best tasting of this tea, after all it was with a paper cup and a paper tea sac. It is very smooth, rich and dark. The thing this really reminds me of is chocolate milk, I was thinking that the entire time I was drinking this tea, weird. Also it seems a bit metallic and with a smoky aftertaste. Definitely I was hoping for something more/else. I should have saved the leaves to steep it again at home and see if I could make it any better. This is a $20 for a tin of tea and that is not a terrible price considering that’s a 4 oz. tin. But ultimately it just left me kind of unsatisfied.

Every time that I’ve peeked into my tea cabinet this year, Peets’ Ancient Trees Pu-erh has stared right back at me. I purchased a tin way back in January with a christmas gift card, and have been saving it for a special occasion; assuming that there were two 50g tuo chas inside. As it turns out, there’s somewhere around 20 single-pot tuo chas inside! I had no excuse to avoid this tea any longer.

I popped one of the ~4g tuo cha in my 100ml gaiwan and started with a lower temperature (180*) rinse for 20s to help clean and open the leaves. Afterwards, I used ~195* water for 30 seconds, and strained it into my litlte gong-fu pitcher. Here’s where the fun really began.

This shu (I’m assuming?) pu’er comes from “organic, ancient trees,” and for a small tuo cha, it does have a fair amount of distinguishable leaves by the third or fourth infusion. It does, however, make for a perfect introduction to the flavors found in the thick, robust world of pu’er.

From the outset, I can’t help but notice the slightly floral flavor of rose hips that slowly gives way to the classic smoky earthiness of ripened pu’er. As I increase each steep by 15 seconds or so, the color shifts from a light pink, to chocolate brown, to an opaque black brew that’s almost indistinguishable from a good cup of coffee. After 6 solid steeps, it began to slowly fade away for another 4-5 infusions or so; never really straying far from its initial flavor.

Peet’s “Ancient Trees” Pu’er might not be all that exciting for knowledgeable pu’er fans, but it’s a very nice introduction to the smoky, spicy flavors found in the world of pu’er. If you don’t care for it at first, give it a couple months to mellow out and come back to it later on. I think I might take it out of the tin and pop it into a little cotton bag I have to give it a little room to breathe.

I rescued a tin of this that had “expired” while I was working at Peets with the sidelong comment to my manager (a tea geek) that I thought pu-erh’s were intended to be aged. Insert tank here about how Peets is a coffee company that sells fair to middling tea and a warning to not judge all pu-erh teas by this one. One co-worker commented that he didn’t really like the earthy taste.

Undaunted, I pressed on. Indeed, the flavor of this tea is earthy — one might describe it as the taste of the fields. It’s not, however, an unpleasant taste. Both the texture and the flavor are imminently smooth and thick, which is in my opinion a great quality for a rainy day tea. Probably my favorite aspect of this tea is the color — a rich red when brewed. It’s simply enjoyable to look at.

That said, the flavor profile is very simple and rather flat, which keeps this from being a tea that I would recommend strongly or one that I drink with any frequency. The tea hasn’t sold me on itself; it has left me eager to try other pu-erhs.

Peet’s Organic Pu-erh tea brews up as black as coffee, and has a wonderful earthy taste. Hints of moss and bark are just strong enough to contribute texture to the flavor with out adding any bitterness. I take mine with just a hint of sugar.

My first puerh and so (biasedly) the most memorable for me. I very much enjoy ordering this when at my neighborhood Peet’s.

Very heavy in the nose and on the pallet. I’m getting a loamy, barky, dirt. it’s very syrupy and thick, something fishy but not exactly bad, maybe fresh water trout. My overall impression is of the floor of a dank forest, decomposing leaves. Gives off a Xanex/Valium type head space, strange for a tea.

I just had my second cup and nothing has changed except my head. I’m higher now than before, so I guess thats good.

This was my first introduction to Pu-erh teas and has become one of my favourites. I love the fact that you can’t oversteep this. I once left this tea accidentally for 20 minutes and it still tasted great!

Very tasty.

Delish!