Rice Ripened Loose Pu-erh Pyramid Tea Bag

A day of yummy tea and a lazy brain. Tired lass.

I officially love sticky rice scented teas. The oolong I had from Alistair, and now this puer: hoo, yum. I gong fu’d this despite it being a tea bag with western parameters stamped on its packaging; I would not recommend a rinse on this one, because it comes out of the gate so so beautifully. The interplay between the sticky rice notes and the foresty puerh is a delight.

These little packets from Teavivre are terribly unassuming, with plainish packaging and leaves broken to bits, but the two I’ve had from ashmanra — thank you for yet another good time — have both been very distinct in character and really just lovely. I’m a baby puer drinker, but the delicacy and flavor precision easily stands up to any loose/caked puer I’ve had.

The puer is lasting longer than the rice, unsurprisingly — but I’m on steep six and the brew, though changing, still has plenty of character.

In other news, I ordered a couple cheapy gaiwans to start playing with smaller volumes and less leaf (been using a 160ml ceramic gaiwan-ish pot up to this point). Some of the teas I’m staring down feel precious, so being able to use less leaf for a session is super appealing. Cutting down on liquid and caffeine consumption per session means I can fit more teas into a day, too, which is thumbs up all around. I’m sc’ited!

Pulled this single teabag sample out to drink this morning, as the temperature has dropped and turned rainy and I wanted something dark and warm.

I’m not sure why my brain never realized “Rice Ripened” would be the same as “Sticky Rice,” and I made the realization only after opening the packet and smelling that distinct sticky rice aroma. I like sticky rice pu’erh a lot, so it was a happy realization.

I found the pu’erh very smooth… it had a richly metallic note with earthy undertones, but lacked the potting soil/dirt flavor I often get. I actually found the sticky rice flavor itself not as prominent as I’ve found in other sticky rice pu’erh I’ve had in the past… not sure if that is due to the other ones being tuos rather than a loose teabag, the age of this sample, or if it simply is a lighter scenting than I’m used to. I actually liked the milder touch, it still had that distinct flavor in the aftertaste but wasn’t so overwhelming in the taste and aroma (though I certainly have moods where I like the mi xiang herb really strong).

A pleasant morning cup for a drizzly Sunday morning.

Convenient pyramid bags made of environmentally-friendly corn fiber. It was a very clean high-quality Yunnan pu’erh tea, with very light earth notes, and heavy rice aroma and light taste note. Very smooth, mellow, easy on the tummy type of tea. I only had one bag to try but it was a pleasant one. Not a complex pu’erh, but a solid daily drinker if you like rice shou.

168/365

I’ve been wanting to try a rice-ripened pu’erh for a long time now, since I’m really rather fond of sticky rice. That starchy creaminess is one of my favourite flavours! The rice flavour here is a lot stronger than I expected it to be, although I imagine it will fade in successive steeps. In flavour terms, it’s exactly like a liquid version of overcooked rice, when it’s gone thick and starchy. The pu’erh itself isn’t much more than a background flavour at the moment – a light earthiness, but really barely there.

Second steep is very similar, although the rice flavour blends slightly more coherently with the base pu’erh. It’s still strong, but not quite so much as the first steep. It’s a better balance between creamy/starchy and the earthiness of the pu’erh. A good combination, and an unexpectedly delicious one!

Third steep is again similar. The rice flavour is still very prominent, and the pu’erh is still very much second fiddle. I think you’d have to really enjoy the flavour of overcooked rice to get along with this one – it’s not a background flavour by any means!

I’ll probably stick with this one until the end of the day now, and take it through a few more steeps. Given what I’ve experienced so far, there’s likey a lot of life left in it yet! I don’t usually buy pu’erh in tea bags, but I am finding it convenient – no cake to break, no weighing or measuring, and easy clean-up to boot! I’d definitely take some of these along with me if I were travelling – the quality of the tea seems unimpaired, and I didn’t find the slightly higher price off-putting when considering the number of steeps I’ll ultimately get from each one.

Another Teavivre win!

Geek Steep S2E13 – Pokemon: Sword & Shield

This is what I chose for my brief period of replaying the video game! Why? Well, it’s an inside joke but I’ll explain…

In the original Pokemon TV series the characters are frequently seen eating rice balls. However, when it was dubbed for North American audiences they decided to change the name of the rice balls to (in theory) be more familiar to kids. Not the image of the rice balls, mind you. Just the name. What did they change it to?

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/069/615/189.jpg

Jelly. Filled. Donuts.

So yeah, I doubled up on the teabags to make a large teapot of this deliciously smooth and creamy rice scented shou because the stupid inside joke of Pokemon and its rice balls just made me smile.

After a good 15 second rinse, I brewed this bag for about 5 minutes in boiling water. Honestly, I think the recommended 9-12 minutes’ steeping time is overkill; it’s not as though I am going to impart some new exciting flavor in that extra 5 to 8 minutes.

I think it was the rice that made that yeasty, corn chippy scent and flavor. I could kind of see how the smell was related to rice, but it just tended toward the side of dog feet smell. Even my coworker, sitting three feet away from me, commented on how this tea smelled like dog feet. It tasted much like it smelled: heavy on the ricey, yeasty flavor, but add in some wet wood flavor and just a hint of fishbone from the shou.

And yet, despite this disgusting description, I still drank the entire cup. I’m not sure what this says about me and my palate. I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this tea, but it was a certain sort of experience.

Blog Post: http://www.catlaittea.com/2016/08/26/review-rice-ripened-loose-pu-erh-pyramid-tea-bag/

Laughs at the 9-12 minute recommendation

This tea was aight’
That is all.

Started my day off with this tea and used it to distract myself during a meeting.. Pretending I’m paying attention while writing a tasting note in my head :P
I got this as a sample from Teavivre, so thank you!

Very interesting to get some loose pu in a bag. It said to steep for up to 12 minutes, so I opted for 8 minutes and it was quite strong. Very dark color (obviously, since it’s a shou) and has a creamy and woody flavor – definitely a lot of rice flavor. Maybe a hint of fruit, but it’s a very rich shou. Because of my steeping situation at work, I couldn’t really rinse it, so I don’t know if that would have made a difference on such a long steep. Overall, pretty good and very convenient for making pu on the go.

Thanks for the samples from a while ago, Teavivre! I love rice flavored pu-erh, so I had to give this one a try in the convenient teabags. The pu-erh consists of larger, great quality leaves, mixed with little green leaves that I think are the rice flavoring. Personally, the teabag doesn’t look like it contains as many leaves as I would usually steep… but I prefer a LOT of pu-erh sometimes (it’s not like pu-erh ever gets astringent because of too many leaves, so I don’t think it matters how many leaves are steeped). The flavor is a standard pu-erh, none of the offending, unlikeable pu-erh notes from this burgundy cup. Very sweet, smooth. The rice is present but very light… I’d love more rice flavor. This pu-erh is a perfect pairing with the rice. The strength does seem lighter, especially the later steeps, again probably because I usually steep more leaves. To be fair, I didn’t use the recommended (very long) steep time. I’ll try that next time. That’s the only negative thing I could say about this pu-erh — the inability to choose how many teaspoons of leaves to steep. Each teabag is probably the perfect amount of leaves for someone else though.
Steep #1 // 4 minutes after boiling // rinse // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 2 minutes after boiling // 3 min steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 4-5 min

Let me start by saying I enjoyed this one. You might question that as you read. First off I think the string is too short. The tag was sucked under the instant water hit the cup. I had to fish it out. Second, I had no idea what sticky rice smelled like. Uhmmm, at first it kind of smells like old socks in a gym bag. Yep, I’m a red neck. Third, 9-12 minutes? Seriously? I couldn’t do it. I lasted three minutes and the brew already looked like coffee to me. The house was now filled with the aroma, which is growing on me and has become more food like. That aroma penetrates the brain right up to the point the tea hits the lips. Then it instantly disappears and is replaced by a dusty earthiness that makes me picture roots. Just a touch of mineral. Then after I swallow the sweet sticky rice reemerges and blends with the pu-erh. I love the contrast. A very interesting cup.