I’ve been wanting to try this one for a long time, and thanks to stephanie I finally can. :)
I really had this one hyped up in my mind. Its special and its dark, come on, how can that name not evoke only the yummiest stuff??
Now, the problem could be my high expectations, or it could be that in my haste to get a taste of this one, I didn’t rinse the leaves first. I steeped it 3 min, skipping over the whole gongfu hoopla and anxiously awaited it to cool off.
Well, hmm, its kinda stinky and flat tasting. I want to think this is my fault and see how a second steeps turns out. Or try the remaining unused leaf with different parameters (and a rinse!).
Then again, I wouldn’t want to break my tradition of disliking nearly every super-famous tea on here :p we’ll see ^^
UPDATE*** A second steeping for 4 minutes yields much less stink (rinsing is an important step!), but it’s not as sweet as I like my shu puerhs. It’s very earthy for sure, like fresh dirt (I don’t mean that in a bad way). I can definitely appreciate this one, but I’m disappointed that it wasn’t as grand as I had hoped.
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It’s been awhile since I drank this, but as I recall, I went pretty heavy on the leaf :)
Thanks Terri, I might try that with what I have left. I have about two teaspoons and I’ll use them in a small mug, see how that turns out.
Did you find this at all fishy like some puerhs? Curious about this one but am not fond of the fishy/stinky aspect.
This one, for the second steep, was less stinky than other puerhs that I’ve had, but not by a lot. I hear people referring to bad quality puerhs as fishy, but imo, all shu puerhs have a pinch of the stink. Rinsing them first almost always takes the edge off. For me a good puerh is one that delivers an exquisite flavor to compensate for the smell.
Thanks, Shelley_Lorraine! I will definitely remember to rinse before to help get rid of the smell.
Shelley, you have such a great way with words! :D
Just sayin’…
for kicks and giggles, my very first review of a puerh, logged on fb, days before I joined steepster:
I got a free sample of loose leaf black puehr tea with my green tea shipment and was hesitant to try it the first few days. But I finally did today. At first, I noted that it smelled like a wicked cow pie, but braved tasting it anyway (don’t know what motivated me). Then, as I told Eric at the time, I decided that it tasted like drinking fossilized caterpillar poop dug up from under a mossy tree. However, it left a strange malty sweet aftertaste, so I kept going back for more because each time I had to see if it was my imagination that it tasted so bad at first. And each time it tasted so bad. But now I can’t remember for sure, so I’m going to go brew another cup .
Hahahahaha!!
It’s that aftertaste that hooks us! LOL
i dunno though, in the comments of that post, I suggested that it might be drugged. ;)
It’s been awhile since I drank this, but as I recall, I went pretty heavy on the leaf :)
Thanks Terri, I might try that with what I have left. I have about two teaspoons and I’ll use them in a small mug, see how that turns out.
Did you find this at all fishy like some puerhs? Curious about this one but am not fond of the fishy/stinky aspect.
This one, for the second steep, was less stinky than other puerhs that I’ve had, but not by a lot. I hear people referring to bad quality puerhs as fishy, but imo, all shu puerhs have a pinch of the stink. Rinsing them first almost always takes the edge off. For me a good puerh is one that delivers an exquisite flavor to compensate for the smell.
Thanks, Shelley_Lorraine! I will definitely remember to rinse before to help get rid of the smell.
Shelley, you have such a great way with words! :D
Just sayin’…
for kicks and giggles, my very first review of a puerh, logged on fb, days before I joined steepster:
I got a free sample of loose leaf black puehr tea with my green tea shipment and was hesitant to try it the first few days. But I finally did today. At first, I noted that it smelled like a wicked cow pie, but braved tasting it anyway (don’t know what motivated me). Then, as I told Eric at the time, I decided that it tasted like drinking fossilized caterpillar poop dug up from under a mossy tree. However, it left a strange malty sweet aftertaste, so I kept going back for more because each time I had to see if it was my imagination that it tasted so bad at first. And each time it tasted so bad. But now I can’t remember for sure, so I’m going to go brew another cup .
Hahahahaha!!
It’s that aftertaste that hooks us! LOL
i dunno though, in the comments of that post, I suggested that it might be drugged. ;)