Coconut Pu-erh

The stores where I live carry a very limited and standard selection of loose leaf teas (e.g., basic green, jasmine, english breakfast). So, if I want to branch out into more exciting blends, I have to order them on-line or take out a loan at the local Teavana store. The Republic of Tea on-line collection has some of the most imaginative flavors around at reasonable prices. The Coconut Pu-erh tea sounded like it was right up my alley- bold, black, and sweet- all of my favorite attributes.

I steeped this tea at 212 degrees for five minutes. While brewing, the scent that filled the kitchen was like an Almond Joy bar. It made me concentrate to try to will the tea maker to process faster.

Sometimes the teas smell great and sweet but the flavor is flat and expressionless. Not so with this little gem! The flavor is exactly as advertised by the aroma. It is sweet and wonderful, more like a dessert tea than a breakfast stimulator. The usually dominant pu-erh taste follows merrily behind the sweet coconut flavor leader. The color is like dark mahogany.

This tea would be fantastic to sip at all times during the day. For me it had the double benefit of waking me up and satisfying my sweet tooth. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I have already added this selection to my “Don’t Run Out!!!” list.

The first time I made this tea, I found the pu-erh flavor was too strong and I couldn’t taste the coconut. There was an overwhelming bitterness. This time, I tried steeping for a shorter time (2 and a half minutes), and result is much more enjoyable. The earthy pu-erh is balanced by the subtle sweetness of the coconut. The flavors come through best after the tea has cooled a bit, and I suspect this would make a great iced tea.

Backlog:

I tried this tea before I joined Steepster. I won’t be trying it again. I love ripe pu-erhs, though I’ve had some bad ones. However, it was the coconut that insulted me in this one. I just don’t get it though: I love coconut on my my cakes and pastries and in candy bars and chocolates, but liquid coconut flavor does not agree with me. I had another coconut tea that, while somewhat more tolerable than this one, was still not too pleasant.

The first sip of this tea tastes like pu-erh, The coconut is more of an aftertaste, so I thought I liked it at first. After 4 or 5 sips, however, I realized the nasty left over flavor and felt sick to my stomach. I drank a whole bunch of water and brewed a favorite blend right away to cure me.

Incidentally, my husband likes this tea. He doesn’t drink a lot of tea and he refuses to try plain Puerh because of the smell, but he liked this one.

Delicious. I find that the steepings of this tea are limited. 3-4 steepings tops.

Nice tea – but the coconut flavor is difficult to taste. I prefer to drink this one sweetened.

Does not re-steep well.

A lovely Chinese aroma, with a gooey texture. Strangely subtle for a pu-erh. Next time I’ll try doubling the recipe.