Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha

OK… this was the Pu-erh I was a little afraid to try, because I had a feeling it would end up being a very earthy tasting tea. I think it was the “Ripened Aged” part of it, because the tuocha itself doesn’t have that strong, earthy smell to it.

Yes, it is earthy, but, it has a really nice sweetness to it too and that makes it very enjoyable. My first couple of sips I tried without any sweetener and it had a nice, caramel-y kind of sweetness to it, then I tried it with a little turbinado sugar and found that this addition gave the sweetness a molasses-y kind of taste. Very nice.

Okay, finally trying my puerh sample from Teavivre. Thank you Angel! I have only encountered puerh a few times before and I didn’t like it – the aroma was always fishy and I couldn’t get over it. I understand that to mean that the puerh was of low quality and lately I’ve been wanting to try some better stuff, so here I am. I also have one from Peony Tea that I hope to try soon. The tuocha (henceforth to be known as the bird’s nest) is adorable and has an aroma that reminds me of hamster cages – not pee or poo but sawdust and maybe the grains that I used to feed Jake. (We had a hamster who died a few years ago, he has a very fond place in my heart. The smell of this actually makes me miss him).

I did a thirty second rinse to awaken the leaves, and hopefully rinse away anything that I might find particularly yucky. :) Surprisingly, the bird’s nest basically crumbled. My gaiwan is full of small pieces of tea leaves, it almost looks like ground coffee. I didn’t really expect that.

First official steep went for 1 minute and yielded a DARK liquor. It truly puts me in mind of coffee, that is not something I’ve had in tea before. I am predominantly a black tea drinker and puerh seemed like the next step for me. My tea pet (a pair of feet) are getting a really good bath today! Anyway, the first steep smells like a barn to me, old wet wood and damp hay/sawdust. It smells like cows and horses coming in from the rain with damp hides – while this description may sound unappealing, there is something comforting about it too. I don’t necessarily want to drink it, but the aroma is very familiar. There is no fish at all, but just damp nature – wood, earth, animals, cloth. Interesting. The taste matches the smell astonishingly closely. Still no fish, but strong earthiness, very natural and organic. Strong without being bitter, and not like any tea I have had before. I like this, but it’s way out of my comfort zone. It doesn’t even taste like tea as I know it. I would like a bit of sweetness here, a honey note to offset the earthiness. I don’t even know if puerh HAS honey notes!

Second steep went for 1.5 minutes, yielding an even darker brew than the first time. it’s almost black! Are we sure this isn’t coffee? The leaves are so small that a bunch escaped the lid of my gaiwan. It may be silly, but I hate leaves in my cup. The aroma this time is very similar than the first. Initially it seemed a bit muted but then I got a strong hit of leather, like I’m in a shop filled with freshly worked boots. While I LOVE the smell of leather (I was a biker baby, I had leather jacket, chaps, all that good stuff) I feel a little weird about drinking it. Bravely, I persevere and am rewarded with a better brew than before. The taste is very similar to the first steep but more palatable. The edga has been taken off the earthiness and I am getting something more like the tea I know and love. There is some sweetness here that I appreciate, though there is also a hint of bitterness. It’s strange that both of those notes can be present where they weren’t before. I’ll finish this one quickly, I fear it may be becoming bitter because of the leaves that slipped into my cup. I almost expect a bit of spice, cinnamon or nutmeg but I get nothing like that. This remains very organic, tasting entirely of the earth. This is definitely better than the first, for me.

Third steep went for 2.5 minutes (whoops!) and yielded a much lighter cup. This time I am enjoying a deep amber. maybe the extra time was a wise accident. The aroma has gone back to hamster cage, wet sawdust and maybe even garden mulch. As I’ve said before, very earthy. The taste is a muted version of the aroma, no bitterness but not any sweetness either. I think I am getting close to the end of my run with this bird’s nest. The beau says this one is by far the best, while I am not sure. The boldness of the second steep was remarkable, but this one comes across as drinkable. I am starting to get a cumulative hint of bitterness which is clouding my judgment of this one.

I’m going for a fourth steep of 3 minutes. I’m too lazy to get up and re-heat the water so it has probably cooled quite a bit at this point, but the extra time seems to balance that out. This liquor is considerably lighter than the others and has very little aroma. There is a whiff of barn animals, but that’s about it. The flavour is similarly weakened. I’ve reached the end, I think. I do prefer my pu a little lighter (for now) so the second and third steeps were the best for me, but they were all enjoyable.

All in all, puerh is definitely not an everyday tea for me, but this bird’s nest has taken away a lot of my fear. There is hope for me in the world of pu! : ) As for the rating, since I have little experience with puerh, I will just go with how drinkable it is for me and perhaps adjust up or down as I try more. Since previous puerh blends were undrinkable for me, this rating is actually really high!

Free Sample from Teavivre.
First steep I decided to drink instead of use as rinse – leathery, not fishy at all other than slightly very slightly in aroma and if you can get past that which I did easily it is quite rich and lovely!
Tastes of wood, sandalwood specifically come out.
Slightly perfume like flavor.

The following steeps still tasted dark, chocolate notes come out, the leather like flavors still present and I am feeling very relaxed!

Pu-erh is a very lovely special tea which I always throughly enjoy.
Thank you Teavivre for this sample!

I woke up with a stomach ache. Too much food for Easter last night, and I don’t eat meat very often. So I turned to puerh to help out. As I was getting things ready, the doorbell rang. Jack, the son of a dearest friend, was at the door. We’ve known him forever and he’s family to us. Says he was in the neighbourhood and wanted to say hi. He’s a troubled 18 year old kid but he has a good heart and I love him. I have my ways with teenagers, they trust me and confide in me. I help in ways I know how. As a true teenager, he usually drops by for two things:

1- Load his ipod with awesome music for free (never a problem!)
2- Money (different story, more complicated and I’m hoping he doesn’t ask today)

I ask how he’s doing.

«Fine.»

That’s all I’m gonna get.

«Come, I’m about to have some puerh tuocha, want some?»

«????» then a big smirk on his face.

Oh, I get it! It’s in a wrapper half opened… from his perspective, it «kind of» looks like some other substance… He thinks I’m about to roll something!

«No silly, it’s just tea!»

I go through the process. As I’m pouring, I explain what a Yixing is and why I have to rinse the tea first. That part makes him question my sanity.

«You rinse it cause it’s old and dirty?Now why would I want to drink some old and dirty bad smelling tea?»

I know he’s got a point. I also know he doesn’t have the patience to listen to the lecture I could give him on the subject so I spare him.

«Oh Just sip it! If you’re man enough that is».

I’ve had this puerh only once, over a year ago, at a time when I could not appreciate it much. Things have changed, though I have only scratched the surface of puerh knowledge, at least I’m past the stage of being scared of it!

This tuocha is big. The first very short steep after the rinse is a dark brown purplish color. It’s so fragrant of leather, I can’t help thinking of horse stables, the smell of heavy duty leather that worn saddles are made of. It’s rich and bold. I get a faint sweetness, reminiscent of ripe figs or dates. Also very woodsy. It’s accessible I would say, a good quality everyday tea.

A much better experience than the first time I had it! I knew nothing about puerh and had done no homework. As I remember, I over steeped and the taste was revolting! Took me a while after that to start experimenting with any puerh. But I now find myself liking it more and more. There’s just so much to explore!

As for Jack, well, he just spitted his in the kitchen sink. Not his thing apparently

The only word that came out with the tea was «Gross!». We laughed!

After the fun puerh tasting, he asked for the usual iPod refill. I was so relieved that the money issue was left alone.

Means he’s doing well this time. Sober for the last 45 days. Longest time since he was 16.

He’s not giving up. Happy fun little moments like this morning have been rare between us for the last two years and I will cherish that. Happy tea day…

While I’m intrigued by puerh and the fact that the tea has aged, I’m always a little apprehensive when trying one. I tend to shy away from teas with even a hint of fishiness, and puerh is notorious for it.

The cute little cake itself smells great, though it definitely smells different from fresh black tea. It smells like dried grass and promising maltiness, but with a hint of that aged flavor. Before I made this tea, I read that it only needs about a minute to two minutes to steep. I didn’t believe it, but I went with what the professionals said. By the end of the first minute, the tea was darker than a seven-minute-chai. I panicked and decided to stop it at 1:30.

It smells like sour honey and wood. But the taste is like something I’ve never had before with a puerh. I definitely taste leather, like others have said, but it’s a good thing. It’s incredibly smooth and flavorful, and like many Teavivre teas I’ve had, it’s naturally a little sweet. I can taste the same sort of flavor that I associated with fish, but it’s different in this blend. I’m glad I still have one cake left.

What a cute little tea nub! I was a bit apprehensive about the pu-erh, but it’s hard to be nervous about something so harmless looking. You see, I’ve never had pu-erh before, or so I thought. Yet, the flavor is very familiar to me. It tastes like a Chinese tea house. Perhaps I have had pu-erh unknowingly because it tastes like the tea I used to get in dim sum houses. When I was young, my grandparents used to delight in taking me and my sister for “yum cha,” on weekends. It’s the Chinese version of brunch. There’s tea and greasy foods that are horrible for you. (Egg tarts!) I never paid much attention to what sort of tea my elders ordered when we ate at those dim sum places. What a young fool I was. I used to dislike tea, but I think it’s just because tea is brewed so carelessly in dim sum restaurants. I always enjoyed it when jasmine or chrysanthemum was on the table though. Flowers are tasty. Usually, some unknown dark tea was served. That tea tastes like this tea. I guess it must have been pu-erh. So all this time, I’ve been nervous for nothing. I’ve been drinking pu-erh since I was little.

I hear it’s recommended to discard the first steep, but I decided to take a taste before dumping it. hmm…not bad. Seems a waste to toss it out. I do prefer the second steep though. It tastes like rich leafy earth. It also tastes like weekends with my grandparents and other family. It brings me to crowded noisy restaurants with grouchy ladies pushing hot carts of food around. And pink table cloths. There are so many memories in this flavor. It feels wrong to drink it alone in the privacy of my home. I feel like taking my grandparents out for dim sum. My, usually, mild and jovial grandpa will fight you like a tiger for the check.

If I don’t drink pu-erh ever again, it won’t be because I don’t like it, but because I don’t want my associations with the flavor of this tea to change.

Anyway, I think I’m too emotionally attached to this tea to rate it objectively or even think about it in terms of flavor too much. Over all though, I think it’s pretty good. :)

My computer still isn’t working so I’m once again confined to my phone, which means this review’s gonna be short and sweet. This stuff is GREAT. Smooth, rich and earthy with chocolate and leather tones. My fixations in the world of tea change, and now pu-erh is the subject of my intrigue. The taste of pu-erh is quickly growing on me and I’m making it a goal to try more because it’s a fascinating type of tea. This is a satisfying cup.

Free sample generously provided to me by Teavivre. Thanks so much!

Preparation notes: 2 of the 4 enclosed tuo cha in 500 ml. water in my Breville at the below parameters.

Dry leaf: My only other run in with pu erh tea was with a Teavana blend roughly a year ago. It was a fruit blend, and in loose leaf form, not a cake, so I guess you could say this is my first authentic pu erh experience.

The tuo cha are small – maybe the size of a quarter, or slightly larger. The immediate scent that came to mind was fishy, which my boyfriend interpreted as food pellets. There were also notes of dirt. Very organic smelling.

Steeped tea: I opted toward the later steeping time with this one, and though it isn’t bitter, I’m thinking I might have gone a little strong and would probably dial it back next time. This brewed up a dark brown to black color which totally shocked me, even though it had been noted by others. I guess I just didn’t think it would be possible to get so dark despite the short steep time.

The predominant smell from the steeped tea is that of the hamster food pellets my boyfriend smelled initially. The fishy smell is displaced more toward the background, with hay and dirt taking the center stage. It smells a touch sour, too.

Surprisingly, given how dark it is, it doesn’t taste astringent or bitter. Just…strong, with a full mouthfeel. It seems like a midway point between black tea and coffee. The taste itself does have some earth on the swallow, otherwise, think a very strong black tea, with the accompanying maltiness and smoothness that it has when steeped properly, and you will have an accurate picture of what this tastes like as well.

I understand why people say that pu erh is an acquired taste. In my case the taste wasn’t the issue – it was the smell I’ll have to get used to. After my experience with Teavana I had written this type of tea off completely, but it turns that I may actually like them after all. I think further exploration is in order!

Thank you to Teavivre for providing this sample for me to try.

This is a very mild and mellow pu-erh so it is perfect for beginners. It doesn’t have much of a noticeable smell. Perhaps I am weird but this seems a little bit too sanitary for me. The wet leaves smell a bit like wet dirt. The predominant flavor I’m picking up here with the tea is chocolate. I steeped it for 3 minutes with boiling water. It is certainly pleasant enough and very low in acids/tannins which is just what I needed today. I am not dying to have more but I have enjoyed it.

The tuocha smells nice – subtle, just a little dark in some way. Not smokey – more like a sweetness of something like caramel.
Tastewise, I’m not digging this. My first infusion I only tasted something like wet cardboard. The liquor smelled much fishier as well.
I figured the steep time might need to be increased so I did a second infusion for 4 minutes.
The second steep was much more flavorful. It had a funny astringency (the cardboard flavor) but it actually worked when the supporting flavors came out (there is a creamy richness under this, like I added heavy cream or something and a nice cocoa flavor).
I had a really hard time rating this tea because it kept changing. I wasn’t wowed by it, but then again, I’m not a pu erh afficionado. I am going to keep playing with this one.

Tea of the afternoon…..

I actually bought this tea to give to a friend, but I know she won’t mind if I sample it! I brewed this for a minute and threw out the first steep as kind of a rinsing phase. I can tell you that the smell was not great the first steep. I stuck with it and steeped for a minute the second time around. This time, I got something I actually did not mind the smell, and it was kind of chocolatey and tasted quite a bit like coffee. I am pleasantly surprised! I do see that I could be a real pu’erh drinker someday. While I did enjoy this cup, I don’t see myself drinking this kind of tea very often for now. However, a seed has been planted for sure. It is miles away from my first experiences with tuo cha from another vendor. Definitely an enlightening experience for me.

12 oz boiling water, second steep at 1 minute, 1 tuocha.

So this is the last of my TeaVivre samples from waaaay too long ago, and the only one that I hadn’t tried yet. In between getting those samples and now, we have moved to Southern California, land of perpetual sun and practically no rain (at least so far – I’ve been here since June and he’s been here since March). This pu-erh reminds me of autumn rainyness, without — as I saw in an amusing assesment of ripe pu-erh elsewhere — tasting like hamsters. The closest we’ve come to that after-rain smell here is from the sprinkler system that runs at 4 am every morning in our apartment complex. The tuochas are also a tiny bit bigger than some of the others I’ve seen, so I was able to get away with shorter steeping times for more steepings.

First of all, thankyou to Angel and TEAVIVRE for this generous sample.
I have been wanting to try unflavoured pu’erh for awhile now, so I thought Teavivre samples was a great opportunity.

Smell: earthy, reminds me of working in the garden! Not fishy smelling at all like some bad pu’erhs can be

Taste: very earthy tasting, and not bitter at all with just a tiny note of sweetness at the end of the sip.
2nd steep: 2minutes, same taste, a little lighter brew, the toucha has opened up now though
3rd steep: 2.5 minutes, this still doesn’t lose any flavour.

I suspect this could re-steep all day. I have lots of errands to run today, so this is it for me today though.
In summary, I think you have to be in the right mood for such an earthy flavour and it would feel good to drink this after a heavy sweet meal.
At this point, my palate still appreciates flavouring (maybe I will give the rose toucha a try next time). However, I did enjoy this today.

First review. Thank you to Teavivre and Angel for this sample that is beautifully packaged with care.

What a beautiful Spring day in the Rockies! The rest of North America seems to be having weather problems but not here..it just split around the mountains and bypassed us. No rain, tornados, snow or wind. So, I washed windows and then made tea! These mini Toucha’s are so cute…wrapped in white paper with red lettering (I don’t have any idea what it says…) . Read the directions and because I like stronger Pu-erh went with 2 minute steep after a quick rinse. I poured a bit in my glass double wall cup and took a whiff. Cinnamon! Oh no, something must have been left lingering in the cup! I quickly got another glass cup. Again, cinnamon! How could that be? I never smelled cinnamon or any spice in my straight, unflavored Pu-erh before! I filled up my glass with the coffee brown liquid and took a nice big swig…rolling it around and swooshing it like a fine aged wine. Hum…a bit of a chickory bitterness but not a tea leaf type bitterness, slight earth, on the heavy side and mysterious. Leather. Believe me…do not steep this longer than 2 minutes. I would even stop at 1 minute. This is potent stuff! I sweetened it a bit. Added milk. Neither changed the character at all so not necessary. I’m puzzeled and don’t know if I like this first pour that much.

Second steep 2 minutes. Wow what a grand difference. This is the best! Mildly smoky and astringent. The blues are gone as though someone opened a window and let the bats out. This is still slightly earthy in a good Pu-erh way with a hint of brown sugar. It is light enough for Spring or Summer. The color is a caramel brown. I added sweetening which was good and then played with ice which was also fantastic. Cream not so much. This is light and delicato. Need to respect the complexity at this stage so better sans milk.

*My Hints…1st steep keep it short…1 minute. 2nd steep… 2 minutes and if you add sugar forget the milk… but iced is good too ( nice warm weather Pu-erh).

Wow!
I never rate or review a tea while I’m still drinking it, but in this case I must make the exception.

First off, thank you Angel at Teavivre for this amazing sample! I cannot begin to express how delighted I was when you contacted me. I was already checking out your website before you generously offered to send me samples. And now I’m definitely buying more from you!

This is the first pu-erh tea I have ever tried. I was a little shy about them from seeing how they are these little discs of aged tea. I thought for sure I was going to mess up the brewing of this tea. For once, I admit I was completely wrong!

This morning before leaving for work, I grabbed the bag I received from Teavivre. I also grabbed my box of paper filters & headed to work. Once at the office, I got myself settled & decided it was time to try this tea. I would have prefered to make it at home, but I woke up late today…come on…the Super Bowl last night was a great game & my guests didn’t leave till after midnight. There was just no time this morning to properly brew this tea!

The smell…Earthy with a hint of fish. Everyone already warned me about that. No big deal. It’s the taste that I’m interested in.

The taste….the first sip is to test the water temp. The second really gives me the feeling of if I’ll like the tea or not. I not only like it, I love it!

It’s wonderful!

I can’t explain other than to say it’s a great flavor with a warm feeling to it. I can’t quite place the exact taste, but it’s good. I dare say it’s a plain black tea without making it sound boring. But it’s a simple flavor that isn’t overly thought, yet it is wonderful!

And while I’m still in the middle of the first cup, I’m already looking forward to a refill.

Well done Teavivre. This is a new favorite! I’m glad I took advantage of the holiday discount & ordered more!

FYI…my order was received on time & in perfect condition!
For those that haven’t ordered from Teavivre, I highly recommend you give them a try. Great tea + great customer service = a happy tea drinker!

Now if you’ll all excuse me…I’m off to finish this amazing cup of tea.

Thanks to Teavivre for the sample (sorry it took so long for me to get to a review).

This is my second cup of tea today. I steeped this for two minutes and the wet leaves did smell a little like dirt. But it didn’t put me off from trying this out. In the cup is smells – well I don’t know what the smell is, but it isn’t dirt, what it is is yummy. This brewed up a nice strong cup. Which I will need today in order to start unpacking from yesterday’s move. I’m getting a little of the chocolate notes someone else mentioned. But mostly there is a bold flavor I can’t put my finger on. I’m looking forward to my next cup already (with a longer steep) and I’m not even half way done with this one! We have another winner!

I don’t think I wrote a review for the first time I tried this nice tea from Teavivre. Anyhow I cleaned the first steep for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then i steeped the second time for 30 seconds! The brew was a thick, black tea. The scent is earthy and like wet fall leaves. There was a hint of fish to the scent… However, I burnt my tongue drinking this! I was too excited. _

Anyhow the taste was surprisingly light and airy, which I wasn’t expecting due to the liquid’s consistency. The taste was like wet fall leaves mixed in with some sweetness. There is a lot of depth to this tea. There is more lingering in the back of my mouth when I taste this tea. I can’t seem to describe it though. I used a large mug for this tea, and will try another steep of this later. I am sure more flavors will pop up. I didn’t taste any bitterness in this tea.

Very good, nice color and taste I’ll get more of these, Thanks Teavivre :)

This is a delicious Pu-erh! I brewed this up in the Yixing and the result after 1 minute was a glorious dark purple brew. The rose flavor was so delicate. This will be purchased from Teavivre. I know my Pu-erhs and I love this one….

This is a decent shu pu-er. I would advise to steep it a bit longer than the directions call for to get the real power of the cup. I tried it by-the-book and then with a much longer steep, and I enjoyed the second version much more, got so much more true flavor from it. Steeping such a compressed nozzle of leaf for 1 minute doesn’t really cut it – it’s a diluted version of it’s true self as the leaves are still trying to come unglued.

With the longer steep I enjoyed the traditional earthiness-ranging-to-spicy flavors, still a bit smoother than I might prefer, but very drinkable. Not bitter, even after a long steep, and no “dusty” notes either, on the flip side. I could see this being a good steep for the morning, when you want that rich, earthy kick, but still need something subtle and easy to wash down.

Pics, my steeping attempts, and other thoughts in my blog review: http://bit.ly/s7zKmj