Strawberry Slender Pu-Erh Tea

Whew! this weekend was quite the whirlwind. Visited my friend H and her two girls up in Cambridge, went to the TUFF awards last night and met some interesting peeps! and had two Teavana teas that didn’t quite float my boat. Well, the first one sank it outright actually! But this Strawberry Pu-Erh only had a slow leak.
Compared to the Spice Exchange version, it was a little too astringent and not very deep. Overall, kinda meh, but then I have high standards since the other one is SO good!!
I added milk n sugar, but that barely saved the day.
Rating: 78

Hmmm, this is a hard one. I got a very nice earthy pu erh taste, but little in the way of strawberry. I did have a tartness in my mouth and a juicy feel after sipping, that made me think I had eaten strawberries. I still have that taste in my mouth and I finished the tea an hour or more ago, so I am not 100% sure it is from the strawberry part of the tea, to be totally honest. It could be some artificial flavouring that’s just taken to my buds or something.

I don’t hate this tea, but I don’t love it. It could be the preparation of it. It deems revisiting for further tastings, but for now I will look at trying the others.

On a side note, you can really tell the difference in the Teaopia to Teavana changeover. And not necessarily for the better. Every tea I look at seems to be (most) everyone’s favourites, or they love that one, which honestly makes me begin to feel that their declarations are not genuine. I work in sales too, but I don’t tell everyone that this or that is perfect for them or that it is my favourite. They seem to have a new set up where there is one person at the Tea Bar, one person working cash, and another one or two working the floor. This has made a huge difference in the amount of time it takes to order and receive my drinks to go. Before, anyone free would get it started…there might be two or three going simultaneously. You’d think with just one person, they’d get the order right too. It was taken correctly, but not made to order. I had asked for room to be left for milk and also for some sugar (light). It was made straight, and adding the rock sugar post steep is not good. I had to get both milk and sugar from Timmies on the way back to my store. I understand that there are big changes, and there are growing pains with that. I may have to look at calling in my order (once I know which ones I like) before crossing the mall to get there in order to save some time. But already, I miss Teaopia, and I am very fearful for the new conversion. I’m already seeing and hearing things that make me think back to all those horrible reviews and stories I’ve read. Also, I have noticed a few things about them…

A lot of their teas are extra fruity, like more tea than fruit. I think there is a name for this I have read somewhere on a tasting. Now, they claim that their teas are higher quality, which justifies the price increases, but when you have half fruit or more, how can you even taste the quality of the tea? What are they hiding or covering up? Secondly, there are so many blends that it is truly dizzying trying to get through the complexity. Lastly, and back to the fruit, with all that dried fruit in there, surely that’s gotta weigh something, so less tea for more money, eh? What a scam! Now, I know other companies add things, but it seems like Teavana teas are disproportionately fruit and extras to the actual tea.

Just some of my initial feelings. I may continue to order things from the old store just to show my support for what made it through the conversion.

Picked this one up yesterday, needed a lil change up between my other pu-erhs.
This smells like those strawberry marshmallows.
This is a very light pu-erh & has a very thin mouth feel. Not exactly what I’m used to in regards to pu-erh. It doesn’t have much strawberry flavour & it ended up bitter, I’ve never had that happen with pu-erh.
This feels/tastes like a regular black. Every other pu-erh is thick, full & earthy.

I think I may pick up an unflavoured pu-erh & add some of my favourite herbals.

This is part of my teavana taste testing at work. My co-worker is a die-hard teavana fan and we get to share tea a lot of the times. This Pu-Erh is just ok. The biggest flaw is that The strawberry is kind of artificial tasting. I do like the earthy, smokey, peppery tones of the Pu-Erh. Definitely not one I would buy. Glad I got to try of course.

I love flavored pu-ehrs, but I keep going back and forth on this one. Slenderness aside, the dark musty taste of the pu-ehr is an interesting pairing with the tart sweetness of strawberry. I’m currently drinking this in a tea travel mug, so it’s getting the longest steeping of its life, and this is magnifying both tastes to an intensity that I’m not sure I find appealing. The pu-ehr in this blend also verges on tasting a bit darker than most I’ve tried.

I’ve decided that the strawberry in here tastes strongly like freeze-dried strawberries usually taste; have you ever tried those “Just Strawberries” in the plastic containers, sold at many grocery stores? Or, Trader Joe’s used to have freeze-dried strawberries. It’s a little tarter and less sweet than a fresh strawberry.

Pu-ehr is a relaxing taste to me in general, but the strawberry almost turns it into a dessert tea. I think I’d like to try this at a Teavana store, brewed freshly and fresh from the bin so I could really decide whether I think this combo works. I’d consider buying this one, as I got it in a swap.

I woke up this morning and couldn’t decide what tea to take to work with me today. There are a few teas that I am trying to drink down because I need to make more room and also just need to get rid of. I decided that I would go with Strawberry Pu Erh. No particular reason, mostly just the fact that I hadn’t in a while.

The smell is surprisingly creamy. I smell strawberries and cream with pu erh as a prominent background. The leaves are dark and ominous with little pieces of strawberries poking through to make it less monotonous looking.

I brewed 2 tsp to 16oz of water. The smell continued to be creamy with strawberries. I like creamy! There was an earthy undertone which I am sure was contributed by the pu erh.

The brew was a nice brown color that was exactly the color of my dogs spots! : ) It made me smile to realize this (my dog is actually called Sencha, I don’t think Pu Erh would make a very good dog name…).

The taste wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping for. I still got a creamy strawberry flavor with a nice earthy pu erh flavor to accompany it, but something wasn’t quite right. The transition from strawberry to pu erh wasn’t smooth enough. Almost as if you got one, pause, and then the other. I added a bit of sweetener to see if it got better, and thankfully it did! The sweetness made the strawberry and cream play in nicely with the earthy pu erh.

I actually ended up enjoying this tea, it just wasn’t something spectacular or that I would order again. I will enjoy what I have left with sweetener or sugar.

I liked this one quite a bit! Shared it with my dad, who doesn’t really go for fruity/flowery teas. He took his plain, and I added a bit of suger/creamer to mine.
His review was that it had a good essence flavor of strawberry, but it wasn’t overpowering the tea. The fruit left a nice aftertaste and he enjoyed it greatly.
My review is that with my add-ins, it tasted more like strawberries and cream, and I liked it a lot. I agree that it isn’t an overpowering strawberry, but thats what lets it stand out from other fruity teas. It’s very laid back and calming, a sweet dessert.
Not for someone looking to get knocked on their bum by strawberry flavor.

The strawberry flavor is almost distracting from the beauty of pu-erh, however the overall cup is nice. I find that it makes a tasty iced tea.

I had never tried a pu-erh tea before and was wondering what the hype was about. So when I was at Teavanna I asked to smell this tea and was socked in the face with a rich ripe mouth watering strawberry aroma. I decided to give it a go despite the fact that things advertised as weight loss aids tend to freak me out a little. I wasn’t thrilled with my first cup, but I found myself thinking about it and craving it over the next day or two and liking it better on my subsequent cups. The smell of strawberry is fairly strong when brewed and the taste is very distinct. It’s almost like strawberry candy; a little over the top, but I kinda like it. I can’t quite describe the taste of the tea behind the strawberry, but it is very mellow and smooth. Maybe that is the pu-erh flavor I’m tasting? I tried it with a little sugar which was very nice, but adding a little milk after that took away from it for me. It steeped well for two cups and was bland on the third. I’d sum it up as a slightly above average tea and a decent introduction to pu-erh although I don’t know that I’m hooked enough to buy it again.

Steep Information:
Prepared hot in store, 16 ounces with perfect steeper.

Tasting Notes:
Steeped Tea Smell: Strawberry rhubarb pie
Flavor: black tea, frozen strawberry (not a juicy fresh flavor) as a end of sip taste
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: fuzzy is the only way to describe it
Liquor: dark brown

Bobbie got this one prepared for her at Teavana when we went to go pick up more my morning mate (our staple, we always have some around). I tried some and we both agree it was OK but not something we’ll get again.

Post-Steep Additives: none

This was my first experience with Pu-Erh. I got it not really knowing all that much about Pu-Erh. I like this blend I think the Pu-Erh flavor is a little weak and you don’t get that lovely earthy flavor as much. It is more fruity which if you are someone who hasn’t had Pu-Erh this is a great introduction. I would buy again.

This is nothing like the Yunnan Golden, but it’s still very much a pu-erh! The strawberry goodness is really enchanting, and the smooth vanilla finish is absolutely tantalizing. Now, pu-erh is extremely earthy, but the strawberry gives it a nice but not so harsh fruity taste. At first I thought I would be overwhelmed by the flavor, but not so much after I tasted it for the first time. The strawberry flavor becomes softer and softer more and more each time I re-infuse it. Also, the vanilla flavor is very subtle, I want more. Not my favorite pu-erh, though.

Now keep in mind y’all this tea is AWESOME as far as speeding up your metabolism goes! The Chinese used pu-erh teas as an aid for weight loss for maaaany, many, many, years. Bear in mind though this isn’t supposed to replace a meal, though. Be cautious, of course. But anyway this tea is IDEAL for after meals. I would recommend this pu-erh if the Yunnan Gold pu-erh is too earthy for you…
(increase the steep time by 15 seconds each time you re-steep it, until you’re up to 3:00 for the last infusion).

This is my first pu-erh so I must admit I have nothing to compare it to, but I’m really enjoying this tea. I love the earthy taste and I like that it’s not too fruity. And the smell of the leaves is so beautiful!

I’m not sure if this is what I should expect from pu-erhs but if it if I’m definitely interested.

One of my favorite teas. I tried this one out on a whim cause I love strawberries and Pu-Erh is good for you. Glad I did because it’s now on the top of my list. It’s very smooth and the strawberry flavor is wonderful! It also has a good pre-steeped smell. I always add a bit of honey to mine because I feel it boosts the pu-erh and mellows the strawberry.

This is a great starter pu-erh. I wish this would have been my first pu-erh trial. I started with a plain pu-erh. Now with the lightness of trying this, I’m going to go back and try my plain pu-erh with a different attitude.

As for tasting, has a nice light strawberries and cream essence, but the pu-erh shines through nice and delicately. First sip is nasal strawberry. Some light musty pu-erh notes, then an acidic or is it alkalinic? After taste on your tongue like when you test a 9 volt battery. Some metallic irony hints as well. This was the only tea I really liked out of my first Teavana purchase.

I actually brewed 3 minutes (slider doesn’t work well on mobile) and water temp about 1 minute after I stopped the boil.

it is an okay blend. not much more i can say about it.

This makes a good iced tea. Nice strawberry flavor with an earthy undertone. Refreshing.

It was ok…the first time I had it, I really enjoyed it. It has a slight artificial taste, but it was easily overlooked. I added just organic cane sugar. The next few times I had it, it seemed to get bitter, and I don’t think it went well with milk at all. It was horrible with splenda, but I didn’t care for it without a little sweetener.

Still not bad- I wish the strawberry was stronger. The aroma is amazing.

A little on the weak side but very nice

This tea didn’t really strike me as special. The strawberry smells great, but I didn’t find much of the flavor carry over to the drinking. It’s not bad, just not one of my favorites.