Pu-erh Classic

I have been getting nervous because I am getting low on puerh tea and lately I have been craving it. I saw this on sale at Whole Foods tonight and grabbed it. I am not sorry I bought it, but I probably won’t buy it again. It would be great for people who are a little afraid of puerh, but I like the stuff!

On the plus side, there is no fishy odor to this one. On the minus side, they call for a whole tablespoon of tea to eight ounces of water and a five minute steep. At those parameters, I would expect this to have more flavor. It was good but not great. Earthy, yes, but I am not getting the saddle leather, mushrooms, or horse farm notes I love!

I really like their double lidded tins and always reuse them, but with puerh such packaging isn’t necessary. Puerh does best with a wee bit of circulation. I also like that this is fair trade and I like how they do business, I just wish I really loved this tea.

Yummy!

Moldy basement? Did you guys brew your tea with lake water?

Serve with a milk chocolate chip [insert your favourite nut here] cookie. It will compliment the unique nutty qualities of the tea!
And it will make the tea more appealing for a first-timer or the average American palate. :)

This is quite a decent, middle of the road pu’er.

It’s great, because it’s so widely available and there’s definitely nothing offensive about it.

I would not be compelled to stock up on this or age it, however, because it just seems so flat and uninteresting for the price. I don’t find anything to explore or think about or watch grow.
I would, however, use this for blending. It forms pretty basic, thick base for blends, and will stand up even if you put in lemonade for a twist on the Arnie Palmer.

Well, you might say, why not just have this around to drink in big mugs on cold and stormy nights? I’d say, good point, except that I find this tea really heavy. I can feel it weighing down in my mouth. It’s not at all weightless, like really fine exciting pu’er, and that heaviness starts to make me feel sick after a while. I never make it through more than half a mug before I quietly say…blehck…to myself and make something else.

For me, it’s just not worth spending the money unless I’m using for a blend. And even with blends, I have to work to cover up the inescapable heaviness in the mouth.

So all in all?
Good for blends
Very widely available (getting pu’er to the people!)
Not offensive
Pretty darn boring
Ultimately leaves a heaviness in the mouth that makes want something else to wash out the aftertaste

Shu++

The best shu puerh I’ve had yet. All of the good flavors are here without any of the gross ones! Very clean and straightforward yet not at all shallow. No unpleasant oily fishdirt aroma or taste yet still very thick and substantial. Well all right, then. Definitely a go to from now on.

I’ve heard some people describe pu-erh as tasting like a moldy basement, so I’ve been hesitant to try it. I’m somewhat happy with this pu-erh as it thankfully does not remind me of a basement. I suspect that this moldy taste is from brewing a little too long, I was instructed to steep for only a minute and a half. It does have a tangy/savory taste and I see where people can taste almond and mushroom notes, but I feel the flavor is a little more complicated than that. Supposedly pu-erh is similar to oolong in that it is intended for multiple brews, and is the best tea for weight-loss.

I did get a little fishy smell from this Pu-erh, but I can’t complain about the flavor. It’s not very strong, but I think it has a nice mustiness to it. Not an in your face pu-erh, but a decent mild one.

I work with woman from China who loves Pu-ehr and this is her daily cup of tea.

I can see why someone might compare this tea to a damp basement, but, to me, I got more of a clean damp dirt smell – earthy and reminiscent of mushrooms and fresh forest soil. The brew itself is very DARK, like over brewed tea.

Have to say, not my favorite tea. My tastes run more towards the malty and bright teas. Didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it, but would give it a try again sometime. Might be an acquired taste.

This is one of my staple black pu-erhs and is really the tea through which i came to like pu-erh tea after initially thinking it tasted like a mixture of mold, seaweed, and dirt. It is similar to Imperial Pu-erh from Silk Road Tea. Both of these are great dinner and after-dinner teas. I tend to drink pu-erh teas in the evening.

It’s smells good has a creamy mouth feel but still has that fermentation aftertaste, I suspect after I let it air out a while it will be much better.

Did someone put cream in my tea? No, it’s still as black as night.

Super smooth and creamy in the mouth. Nice, but not overpowering, earthiness. Really great.

Pu-erh = happy face :)

pu-erh-fect!

Does anyone else like to drink this only as iced tea? When I first bought some I made it hot and I couldn’t stand the taste. My next batch was made as sun tea and it was really good. Like it was a whole new taste.

http://landofmeg.blogspot.com/2008/08/pu-erh.html

I enjoy drinking this tea in the morning at work. It is good for 3-4 infusions if you slightly increase the steep time for each one. Don’t forget to rinse it for 10-20 seconds before the first infusion.

I did this tea as a celebration of the first episode of GTTV. I was so bummed how bad it was, I had the 2008 vintage, and it was bitter , very bitter, needed more aging, damp soil and mushroom notes on mid-back palate.