Favorite After-Dinner Pu-erh that won't keep one Awake?
I enjoy pu-erh after dinner but can’t drink tea with a potent level of caffeine in the evening. What do you all recommend?
I’ve heard that shou may have less caffeine than sheng. Is this typically the case?
Thanks!
I find that I can drink sheng that has a lot of cha qi without worrying about the caffeine, though I am normally pretty sensitive to caffeine. In my personal reviews, I give a number for taste and another for the level of cha qi. This helps me select my after-dinner teas. I also think that I do better if I start a pot early in the evening and then keep steeping.
“In my personal reviews, I give a number for taste and another for the level of cha qi. This helps me select my after-dinner teas.”
Based on your reviews, what are your top after-dinner pu-erh teas?
Agreed, starting a pu-erh session early in the evening is a good idea.
There are quite a few, but they are a random selection of various teas I’ve tried.
The 2012 Cangyan Gufeng Yiwu by W2T is a really good sheng that I give my highest cha qi rating (91/100). 2013 Changda Hao Gedeng by Puerhshop rated well (89/100). 2011 Raw “Ai Lao Mountain” (YS) rated 85/92.
Do you have a specific company you like to order from? Do you prefer shou or sheng? I could give you a more complete set from a particular source. Alternately, if you follow the sheng or shou thread you will hear a lot of discussion of cha qi, drowsy, relaxed, etc.
Thanks for the three pu-erh night cap recommendations.
I’m pretty new to pu-erh so I don’t yet have a preference for shou versus sheng. The majority of my reviews have been about unflavored orthodox black teas since that’s what I drink each morning. My recent orders have been from: Mandala, Tao Tea Leaf, TeaVivre, Verdant, What-Cha, Whispering Pines, Yezi, and Zen Tea Life.
Life has been kind of crazy lately. Even though I drink tea everyday I haven’t written reviews recently. However, I’ve been reading Steepster reviews each day to help plan future purchases. Also, I have pu-erh samples from Misty Peak, TeaVivre, Verdant, as well as both of Mandala’s recent shou and sheng samplers, but have not yet tasted them all.
Currently, I’ve been enjoying Mandala’s Special Dark and Whispering Pines 2013 Ontario 1357 Shou Pu-erh.
I’d be especially interested in suggestions for organic or EU MRL compliant pu-erh such as the Yunnan Sourcing Brand label: http://yunnansourcing.com/en/content/20-eu-compliance
An Autumn Raw….settle your stomach, not the vibrant spring of a spring raw. It calms you and will be a nice night cap.
I hate to be negative, but I have not found a puerh that will not keep me awake. That is why I drank a puerh session at 4 pm as I was home. I have begun to drink a green tea called hojicha at night at some times. This green tea is made from the stems of the tea plant and is roasted, both factors that lower the caffeine. It is not something I like as much as puerh but insomnia has forced me to make sacrifices.
In theory if you could find a puerh that is large leafed and doesn’t include too many buds this “should” have a lower caffeine count as larger leaves have less caffeine and buds have more. However, in practice it is hard to discern this about a tea.
Thanks for sharing your pu-erh experience. Some of us are much more sensitive to caffeine than others. My mother frequently drinks a robust cup of black coffee late at night and consistently has no difficulty sleeping.
Thanks also for the info about large leafed pu-erh w/o too many buds as a possible night cap solution.
I have not found a puerh that will keep me awake in the evening in winter. They all make me sleepy. Been drinking a lot of black tea for this reason.
Does the wet piling fermentation process of shou diminish the caffeine content compared to sheng?
i love this one. Better than any sleeping pill. my parameters for shou are 6-8 g for 100ml, 212F. rinse and short steeps. works every time
I have a shou time every night. if i dont, i tend to wake up and then its harder to fall asleep.
Thanks for your shou reccomendation!
Are there any of YS’s own brand label* that you’d also reccomend? *http://yunnansourcing.com/en/content/20-eu-compliance
I own that one and get ripping tea drunk off it. However, not a sleeper for me, I got wired to 1am!
I cannot drink coffee at night, or black/green/white/sheng. Only shou. My usual shou time around 11pm. looseTman, I’ll take a look at other YS shou. Not at home at the moment.
http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_product=246&controller=product
http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_product=270&controller=product
http://www.yunnansourcing.us/store/index.php?id_product=496&controller=product
Thanks for your suggestions! The 1st one looks especially appealing.
- http://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing/35578-2011-yunnan-sourcing-hui-run-ripe-pu-erh-tea-cake-of-bu-lang-mountain
- No Steeepster reviews yet.
- http://steepster.com/RichD/posts/240894
Any possibilities after 10/13?
“…Yunnan Sourcing Brand label from October 2013 onward comply with the European Commission’s Safety Standards for Pesticide content.”
Boychik: Hope you have enough of the peerless to add a bit to the travelling tea box when it’s your turn. It sounds good, but I don’t want to buy half a kilo on spec.
looseTman, I prefer to drink a little aged shou. I don’t think I have younger than 2012. Not that I mind fermentation flavor, but usually they gain some complexity after couple years. YS has 2013 Hui Run but I haven’t tried it.
I have not found a pu’er that will put me to sleep. Times I’ve drank pu’er after dinner I cannot sleep to 1 or 3am (or worse). I get flipping wired manic most of the time on pu’er, especially shu.
Caffeine is a stimulant. I imagine you need to have a hellva caffeine tolerance for pu’er to put you to sleep, similar to those coffee drinkers that can drink a pot before bed. Maybe over time you can build it, or maybe one is lucky (is it lucky?) and have the genetics to not get effected by caffeine as much.
If you want something to put you to sleep, hit the herbals or valerian or something.
I’m not looking for something to put me to sleep. I’m just looking for a low-caffeine full-flavored/full-bodied option that won’t keep me awake.
I am one of those with no discernible reaction to caffeine. Most of my family is the same way so i assume it is a gene we share. We also don’t get hangovers! Maybe the two are related? Anyway, just wanted to say the caffeine thing is a mixed bag. Nothing to help perk you up but I can drink whatever, whenever.
I am also lucky(?) enough to have a high caffeine tolerance, but it is something that can be built up. After you become accustomed to a certain amount of caffeine everyday you no longer feel the effects of it. Though you deal with withdrawal symptoms should you miss it.
I’d look for a strong shou that you can flash steep and still have a cup full of flavor. That way you aren’t steeping long enough to get a huge caffeine jolt.
“I’d look for a strong shou that you can flash steep and still have a cup full of flavor. That way you aren’t steeping long enough to get a huge caffeine jolt.”
cookies, Thanks for your suggestion. I’d be willing to give it a try. Do you have a specific shou in mind for this idea?
I’m fairly sensitive to caffeine, especially in coffee, but have gradually increased my exposure to puerh in the evening, based on my theory that the cha qi counters the caffeine. I have to admit that every couple of weeks, it doesn’t work, but I’m usually good.
I am a basket case if I try to drink puerh in the evening (or any tea). It’s so sad because it seems like that would be the perfect time for a shu.
This discussion is making me so jealous! haha! I loved (LOVED!) drinking puerh at night… the first night, it went fantastic. I slept so soundly… The next night, I stared up at the ceiling, feeling like I could shoot through the roof like a rocket blasting off. I seriously felt like I had electricity pulsing through my limbs. lol
Puerh at night tastes SOOO good though, that I’d love to find one that didn’t wire me… or just build up a tolerance to it.
I’m following this discussion closely.. lol
I’m going to give it a try again (probably tonight?), because this thread has me craving it at night.
Thanks for starting the discussion! :)
I couldn’t resist having a puerh session tonight. I did my best to keep it relatively small, using a small gaiwan and keeping it to six steeps. Most nights I have to avoid puerh at night but tomorrow I can sleep a couple of hours later so I decided to risk it.
I’ve had various shu at night and been okay. I recently started to have oolong at night and was fine except for last night….totally awake and had to get up at 4am for work this morning! I think tonight I might try shu again, or maybe just go caffeine free. I totally get wanting to have something full-bodied though!
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