Another interesting combination from Rishi Tea blending organic ginger and pu’erh tea. Not something I would normally look for, even though I enjoy good pu’erh tea and ginger tea as well (especially from fresh ginger). However, it was part of a sampler pack I had purchased and I thought I would give it a try.
Their brewing parameters of 5-6 minutes were a disaster on my first attempt, making a truly undrinkable brew—but when I shortened the time to 3 minutes, at 195 degrees F, it brews up to a really tasty concoction. Dark and earthy, predominantly ginger flavor but with a distinct pu’erh taste supporting. I was amazed to get three nice infusions this way with enough left over to try iced. Mmmm. You have to really like ginger to enjoy this (duh!) and try out the brewing parameters to find a taste that suits you. If the ginger is too prominent, try a second infusion where it tones down a bit.
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I keep wanting to try a flavored pu erh, but somehow I can get my mind around the IDEA of a flavored pu erh. I love flavored blacks / greens. Flavored Oolong is something that I have just lately tried (and liked, to my surprise). However, pu erh is the earthy tea I have in my gaiwan, and there is no room for flavors in there.
Ahh…but the curiosity…I will have to try…
I always seem to have too much fresh ginger root around, both from the market and also from the yard… I occasionally dry chopped ginger and save it in a tin, and I think I will try a small bit of this with some of the unremarkable pu’erh tea that I have around and see what works. This may be the cheapest way to try a flavored pu’erh! :)
Let me know if your curiosity inspires you to try a flavor that complements your pu’erh.
I prefer fresh ginger as well….much more dyanmic
Dried ginger in pu erh….it sounds intriguing. I shall give it a try too. For me, sort of a baby step towards flavored pu erh.
Incidentally I tried for years to develope a pumpkin chai soup, trying every tea I could think of that might give a nod to the land of chai..then one day I realized the best tea for the job didn’t come from India..I started using toucho shou puerh…adding several of them with fresh ginger, cinnamon, clove, pepper, salt, and brown sugar, I would steep it into a thick base and after the butternut squash and pumpkins were roasted (I would pour a bit of the tea into the ‘bowls’ of the squash while it was finishing roasting and let the tea carmelize the surface), I scrape out and puree the squash, add the tea concentrate…adjust flavors and finish it with coconut milk or heavy cream (vegan vs veggie)….the pu erh is perfect. Deep enough that the flavor comes through, allows the tea, spices, and squash to each have an expression on the palate.
Wow! Now that’s creative! You have inspired me to try something similar. I noticed last time I made butternut squash soup that it paired with pu’erh tea very nicely—and why not add a bit to the mix? Your pumpkin chai soup sounds like heaven to me!
if you want the recipe I would be happy to share
its almost that season
Yes please, a recipe! It sounds awesome.
Would love the recipe for your pumpkin chai soup! I thought about it again last night as I was roasting some calabaza for a quesadilla made with flor de calabaza, queso Oaxaca and epazote. Epazote is known as Mexican tea, and grows pretty easily here in Miami, but is definitely an acquired taste!
I will post it shortly then! sorry for the delay
I keep wanting to try a flavored pu erh, but somehow I can get my mind around the IDEA of a flavored pu erh. I love flavored blacks / greens. Flavored Oolong is something that I have just lately tried (and liked, to my surprise). However, pu erh is the earthy tea I have in my gaiwan, and there is no room for flavors in there.
Ahh…but the curiosity…I will have to try…
I always seem to have too much fresh ginger root around, both from the market and also from the yard… I occasionally dry chopped ginger and save it in a tin, and I think I will try a small bit of this with some of the unremarkable pu’erh tea that I have around and see what works. This may be the cheapest way to try a flavored pu’erh! :)
Let me know if your curiosity inspires you to try a flavor that complements your pu’erh.
I prefer fresh ginger as well….much more dyanmic
Dried ginger in pu erh….it sounds intriguing. I shall give it a try too. For me, sort of a baby step towards flavored pu erh.
Incidentally I tried for years to develope a pumpkin chai soup, trying every tea I could think of that might give a nod to the land of chai..then one day I realized the best tea for the job didn’t come from India..I started using toucho shou puerh…adding several of them with fresh ginger, cinnamon, clove, pepper, salt, and brown sugar, I would steep it into a thick base and after the butternut squash and pumpkins were roasted (I would pour a bit of the tea into the ‘bowls’ of the squash while it was finishing roasting and let the tea carmelize the surface), I scrape out and puree the squash, add the tea concentrate…adjust flavors and finish it with coconut milk or heavy cream (vegan vs veggie)….the pu erh is perfect. Deep enough that the flavor comes through, allows the tea, spices, and squash to each have an expression on the palate.
Wow! Now that’s creative! You have inspired me to try something similar. I noticed last time I made butternut squash soup that it paired with pu’erh tea very nicely—and why not add a bit to the mix? Your pumpkin chai soup sounds like heaven to me!
if you want the recipe I would be happy to share
its almost that season
Yes please, a recipe! It sounds awesome.
Would love the recipe for your pumpkin chai soup! I thought about it again last night as I was roasting some calabaza for a quesadilla made with flor de calabaza, queso Oaxaca and epazote. Epazote is known as Mexican tea, and grows pretty easily here in Miami, but is definitely an acquired taste!
I will post it shortly then! sorry for the delay