Ripened Chrysanthemum Pu-erh Mini Tuocha

For the rest of today I will ONLY be sipping and posting NEW TO ME Teas and Tasting Notes :)

For this one…I will do an infusion test.

1st infusion
1minute

Color: Medium Brown
Aroma Prior To Infusing: Edamame-like and semi woodsy
Aroma After Infusing: Earthy and Woodsy but subtle than most Pu-erhs
Taste: It’s quite nice! I’m pleasantly surprised! It’s caramelly, semi-malty-cocoa, and a hint of floral mixed with woodsy. I’m very glad this isn’t overly floral. Also very glad this isn’t too harsh of a pu-erh “muddy” flavor. This is very nice! I really enjoyed the first infusion! I’m looking forward to the 2nd infusion…to compare. As it cools a bit it does get sweeter…neat!

I received a sample of this in my most recent shipment from Teavivre (Thanks, Angel!). I’m excited to try it out since I love a good pu-erh and I really enjoy chrysanthemum herbal infusions.

I was a little concerned at first since there was precisely one chrysanthemum in the tuo. Then I realized that it’s been in that little wrapped up tuo for quite a long time, so I really haven’t got anything to worry about, now have I?

I’m in the office, so I used my “Perfect Tea Maker” or whatever it’s called from Teavana (a very nice gift from my friend, TheDizzyPixie). The infusion is nice and dark and beautiful to me. It has the earthiness of any pu-erh, but a nice sweetness to the aroma that speaks to the chrysanthemum.

The tea itself is a surprisingly mellow, nice pu-erh with a pleasant, lightly sweet after-taste.

I’m very happy with this and imagine I shall be ordering more in future!

tu– cha

Appearance: small tu-cha button, Chrysanthemum pressed into the back of it.
Aroma when Dry: toasted nuts, earthy, faint floral notes
After water is first poured: nutty, creamy, buttery caramel notes
At end of first steep: murky, earthy, peaty, floral
Tea liquor:
At first? Light red brown
At end of steep: opaque black– brown
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: afternoon
Taste:
At first?: heavy, slightly creamy earthy notes, clay, hints of floral, slight sour finish
As it cools?: notes get more earthy, heavier
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, deep earth notes, slight floral leads on sour close

Second steep (3 min)
Aroma: floral,woody
Taste:
At first: more Chrysanthemum notes, with floral notes lingering longer, still heavy, earthy

I’m a little behind on my tea sampling, at least in my opinion. Of course, in my opinion I’m behind on everything (ask my sis Ms Whatsit, who just listened to me whine for 20 minutes about trying to get things done…)

So, this is from a sample from Angel & TeaVivre, and I’d like to say, “Thank You” to them for the lovely teas that I’ve enjoyed so far.

I have a bit of a love affair going with Puerh Tuochas right now. I’ve been told somewhere along the line that Tuochas are made from the lesser quality Puerh, but if that is the case, and I doubt that it’s the case for all of them, then I don’t really care. Tuochas are cute, they are aesthetically pleasing, they are convenient, and they say, “Drink me”. So I do. Yes, some are better than others.

This Tuocha is especially attractive, with it’s Chrysanthemum flower ornament. It doesn’t lend a lot of chrysanthemum flavor, but that’s ok, because the Puerh itself is a tasty one. Deep & dark, with a mellow & slightly sweet woodsy flavor, & a buttery sensation. I steeped the first 8 oz cup for 2 minutes, & the 2nd cup for 3. Both are delicious & smooth, with NO fishiness or saltiness, just a pleasant minerally brew. I wouldn’t mind a little more intensity, and since there is another Tuocha in the sample, I will brew that one at a later date in my Gaiwan.

A very nice Pu-erh. Pressed inside the little tuocha is a chrysanthemum blossom … making for a “treasure hunt” of sorts. Makes the act of brewing tea a little more fun.

And I like the contrast of flavors that the chrysanthemum provides. It is sweet, but it is a different sweetness than the caramel-y tones from the Pu-erh, which keeps things interesting. It also has a slight sharpness to it that sort of lightens what would otherwise be a heavy, earthy background. This juxtaposition of flavors give the cup an interesting sense of balance that I quite enjoy.

I’m off to write a review for this one.

This tea came from AmyOh and is definitely the chrysanthemum one this time! I think last time I had gotten a rose tuo cha mixed in with the ones Amy sent, but there is no doubt I am looking at a chrysanthemum now.

I did a quick rinse, then made two steeps in rapid succession and poured both into my fairness cup. (During the rinse I left the lid off the pot. The sepals of the chrysanthemum started to unfurl and wave and it was truly creepy and looked like a scene from a horror movie. I guess I have been watching too much Doctor Who.)

I immediately resteeped again and carried it all to the tea table, so the different steeps were mixed together.

This was a good puerh. I did not expect to find it very different from the other two from Teavivre, but I do believe it may be just a touch milder. The third steep was especially dark, very inky. We continued steeping to about six I think, and by the end it was getting lighter. The flavor brings to mind earth and leather horse tack, my favorite.

This was very good, and I look forward to drinking them all, but I think I will order the plain Ripened Aged Tuo Cha puerh rather than one of the florals. I really don’t taste the flower and I think the plain puerh is just a bit stronger.

As usually happens, I had probably only had one or two ounces of this tea when my stomach started sounding like the singing of whales, apparently whales with questions, as the musical phrases usually ended with an upward lilt. Puerh makes my tummy feel better when I have been bad, and I was bad twice today – lunch pizza with youngest, and Five Guys with hubby for supper. Oof. But now all is well and tummy will not keep me up tonight!

Thank you, AmyOh, for gifting these to me! I will most likely be drinking this again with my son tomorrow. He liked Teavivre’s puerh well enough to have me order seven ounces for him.

Many thanks to the Teavivre team for this lovely sample! The first infusion after a short rinse yielded a very dark, almost thick tea. It was a little bit earthy for my taste, but this was easily remedied with the addition of a small amount of sugar and a splash of milk. The second infusion was just as dark, but not as thick as the first. The floral aspect of the chrysanthemum is more noticeable this time around and adds a nice, light sweetness. The third infusion was significantly lighter with the floral sweetness even more noticeable than before.

Overall, I really enjoyed this pu-erh. I would love to try the other varieties from Teavivre – specifically the rose pu-erh. I am loving my samples from Teavivre so far. Thanks again for the chance to sample some of your tea!

Sample provided courtesy of Teavivre…

I’ve never had a Chysanthemum pu-erh before and I was looking forward to trying this one. It was very nice the way the flower opened up after this steeped. 195 F water for 2-3 minutes. I should have used boiling but that’s what our water boiler is set to currently.

First steep: This is pretty earthy and woodsy! It’s also a bit seaweedy with a hint of smoke. I wonder if I should have tossed the first steep?

Second steep: Floral scent is emerging! I am getting a bit of the sweetness here and it’s a lot less murky than the first steep. I need to get into the habit of rinsing these a bit in boiling water before steeping them.

When it comes to pu-erhs I am biased and picky. I do have definite preferences and flavor profiles but I don’t think this is one of them. I may have to spend some more time with this tea before I can really assess it. I was glad I had the chance to try it but I’m a little confused by it.

I was given this one by TeaVivre, so thank you again!

I drank it this morning after an almost sleepless night to calm me down a little bit. While steeping, the chrysanthemum flower came of and blossomed in the pot, which made the act of brewing so much more fun :)

The color was really thick and dark, just the way I like it. At first I thought I oversteeped it, but it turned out to be just right. The taste is really earthy, with some wooden touches. On the second steeping, the floral hints are becoming more apparent, which I like very much. And is leaves a great sweet aftertaste, but I still added half a teaspoon of sugar to help that floral taste to be richer.

A great tea, I will be looking forward to ordering this one and maybe trying some of the other TeaVivre Pu-Erhs.

Nice ripe pu-erh, deep and not too simple. Chrysanthemum blossom adds some interesting taste at later steeps. http://www.teablr.com/?p=531

Love this pu-erh, I use 1 tuocha per 4 oz of boiling water. 45 second rinse, which also begins to break apart the tuocha. First steep for 1 minute and it is a very dark heavy earthy tea. Increasing 30 seconds per infusion, by the fourth infusion the liquid becomes very light and the sweetness of the chrysanthemum really shines.