Yunnan's Fable

I steeped this for only three minutes and it’s just too strongly pu-erh for my liking. Next time I’m going shorter. I even tried drinking it iced, which for a short while did work. But the flavor is just too much and for me it doesn’t match the coconut and chocolate.

I am honestly surprised that this length of time made such an earthy cup, but I’ll just do the same thing I do with Chocolate Orange. I will like this one then!

Shorter steep next time, though I am intrigued by the idea of cold steeping.

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It appears that my revie of this one failed to save last week. I’m going to hold off on giving this one a number, if only because I seem to dislike pu-erh. I feel like I should love this tea. The coconut and tea provides a rich bold flavour that screams delicious! I also love the deep color of this tea. However, when I try and drink it – ther is something within the tea that I just can’t get past. I’ll be honest, part of the reason I asked for this as my sample from the Tea Merchant was to try another Pu. I’m not holding that against this tea as I do think that this is something that people can get behind. I just may not be a pu person. I’m going to have to try it again to see if maybe I simply did something weird in brewing it. I do want to thank the tea merchant for this opportunity to sample it though. Thank you! If nothing eke I’ll be passing this off to a friend who loves Pu, so that it can be appreciatedby them :)

My last sample from The Tea Merchant! I sure went through those fast. For some reason I decided to cold brew this one, I’ve never had an iced flavored pu-erh and thought it would be interesting. It smells so rich and earthy, but I do love iced coconut drinks.

Even after an overly-long 16 hour steep, the color and taste are quite light! Not weak, but rather airy. The earthy, rich, hay-y flavor from the pu-erh is still there, but cold it’s almost sparkling. The coconut comes through loud and clear, deliciously tropical. The cocoa keeps it from being too beach-drink-like, and complements the deep flavors of the pu-erh. There are also nutty flavors going on, in fact I’d almost swear there was hazelnut flavoring! It’s kind of like a tropical twist on Florence.

It reminds me a lot of Persimmon Tree’s Coconut Cacao, only I haven’t tried that iced or this one hot yet so I can’t really compare them. This seems to be a lighter take on pu-erh/coconut/cocoa though, with less of a coffee latte vibe.

Thanks so much Kasumi no Chajin, for another sample… this one! The dry leaves smelled so powerful, I thought it was the packaging of the bag. All the pu-erh I have tried (not many) have had such a light flavor, definitely lighter than black teas. I always thought they were nice bases for other flavors. After steeping for three minutes, this one tastes just as it smells. It’s tough to describe. It seems chalky and dusty to me, but not something that isn’t tasty. I don’t seem to hate this as much as others do. I didn’t get much of a chocolate or coconut flavor (and I think caramel would have been a better fit, really.) I had three steeps (3,4,5 minutes) and they all had consistent flavor. But this one is interesting and different. I like it. I’m still wondering why this pu-erh has such a strong flavor… I guess I’ll just chalk it up (oh crap, I really didn’t mean the pun intended) to The Tea Merchant having such stellar flavors with their teas. Though I’ve only tried two others, they are delicious.

The packaging is definitely awesome from this company. Nicely made labels on the brown sample bags, and the wax seal was very cool.
I was lucky enough to have received this tea for free and while I love the name of the tea and thought the ingredients sounded good, I couldn’t really enjoy it. I’ve never really had a real puerh blend before and I guess I just don’t like puerh at the moment.
It’s a very bold cup and I appreciate the dark coloring of the tea, but it just doesn’t smell good, and nothing really appeals to me in the taste.
I do however feel like it wakes you up. I will finish this cup, but I don’t think I will be making another. Will keep on the side for future swapage.

Loose
Appearance: black chocolate dark leaf, coconut shreds
Aroma when Dry: dessert sweet, marzipan notes
After water is first poured: deserty, spiced coconut pudding
At end of first steep: sweet, deserty, hints of nuts
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: faint nutty brown
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: afternoon, evening, seasonal
Taste:
At first?: sweet nutty notes, close on a cloying coconut note
As it cools?: gets creamy notes, reminiscent of a light hazelnut almond syrup

Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? yes, with a heavy nutty, earthy sweetness (western)

I would like to thank the Tea Merchant for sending me this sample of Yunnan’s Fable. I was so very excited to try Pu-erh for the first time, as I have been very intrigued about it since I’ve heard of it.
I brewed Yunnan’s Fable to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. I steeped it for approximately four to five minutes. The aroma was earthy and also had a richness from the cocoa bits. While I was drinking the tea, it was a smooth and very rich flavor from the cocoa,however I personally couldn’t taste the coconut. The liquor was a medium to dark brown color. It actually reminded me of the color of coffee. Once upon a time, I used to be a huge coffee drinker; oh how times have really changed. I think this is a great alternative to having hot chocolate, since I don’t drink it anymore.
I re-steeped the tea, and it was still a very rich and flavorful cup. It was just as good as the first steeped tea. I must say that I am amazed and delighted at how much I truly enjoyed this tea.