Organic Ancient Phoenix Pu-erh Tea from Butiki Teas


da631ba0fdbc3728ba63bc2414a236b6Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Butiki Teas

Tea Description:

Our Organic Ancient Phoenix Puerh originates from a sustainable farm on Wuliang Mountain in China and is handpicked by the Yi tribe of Yunnan. This Shou (ripe) puerh was harvested in 2011 from organic ancient trees. The tea is pressed into cakes using only skilled hands and a unique fragrant wood. Organic Ancient Phoenix Puerh is smooth and rich with raw cocoa, oak, and sweet tobacco notes. This high quality tea can handle a substantial amount of infusions.

Read more about this tea on Steepster.

Taster’s Review:

A few weeks ago, Butiki Teas announced on Steepster that it was closing permanently very soon.  I was very sad about this announcement because Butiki Teas is one of my favorite purveyors.  So, I started sorting through my stash to see if I had any teas on hand from Butiki that I had not yet reviewed so that I could offer a goodbye to one of my favorite tea companies here on SororiTea Sisters – and this is the tea that I found.  So, yeah, this tea is no longer available from Butiki Teas, but this review is less about the tea for me and more about offering a heartfelt farewell to a wonderful tea company.

And this Ancient Phoenix Pu-erh is absolutely lovely.  It doesn’t surprise me, because I can’t say that I’ve had anything from Butiki that I wasn’t impressed with!  (Which is why I’m sad to see them go!)

These tiny Pu-erh cakes are about the size (in diameter) of a quarter although they’re a bit thicker than a coin.  It makes portioning rather simple, I just dropped one of the “coins” into my gaiwan and covered it with hot water (190°F) for 15 seconds to awaken the leaves.  Then I strained and discarded the liquid.  I poured the water over the coin – which is already starting to break apart – and infused it for a minute.  Then I poured the tea into my teacup and enjoyed.  Pu-erh offers multiple infusions and this was just the first of many cups that I’d enjoy this evening.

My first cup is sweet.  It’s almost a sugary sweetness.  There are notes of earth to the cup as well, but the sweetness is stronger than the earthy qualities.  (I like that in a pu-erh!)  It’s a very soft tasting tea, this first cup.  Much softer than I’m used to from a pu-erh.  There are light spice notes.

The second cup was also steeped for 1 minute.  Usually, I add 15 seconds onto the steep time but that wasn’t needed here.  This has a much deeper flavor.  Some of the earthy notes have emerged now.  I’m still getting those spice notes I mentioned with the first cup, as well as the sweetness.  I taste notes of leather and cacao and wood.  This is a very complex cup.  Very smooth.  No astringency.  No bitterness.

The third cup – well, the third cup and I didn’t really agree.  I steeped it for a full minute again and I found it to be a little reminiscent of a thick cup of coffee.  Not a good coffee either.  Kind of like a tar-like coffee you might find in one of those 24-hour truck stop diners that don’t get a lot of traffic so the coffee’s been sitting there for the last six or seven hours.  I found it interesting that at least one of the tasters of this tea on Steepster experienced a less than favorable third infusion as well.  Weird.

So, I tossed that cup and went for infusion #4.  This time, rather than setting a timer, I just watched the color and when the color was dark I poured it.  I would estimate that the fourth infusion was about 20 seconds.  Much better than infusion #3, this is earthy, kind of mushroom-y, with notes of leather and cacao.  I am picking up an undertone of molasses-like sweetness.  A very smooth, mellow and deeply flavored cup.

I kept on steeping.  I found that by the fifth cup, this had become a very pleasant tea.  This is a tea that you can’t really set a timer – you just need to watch it.  When the color becomes dark, it’s time to pour and enjoy.  Sweet with notes of spice.  Cacao!  The earthy notes are starting to become less prominent and allowing the sweeter characteristics to come forward.

As I sip this tea, I raise my cup to the greatness that is Butiki Teas.  I recommend to all of you – if you haven’t yet tried any of this company’s teas, shop now before you lose that opportunity.  I will miss you, Butiki Teas!

Pu’erh Spice Tea from Simple Loose Leaf

SpicedPuerTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.

Tea Description:

Pleasantly perky spices add warmth and sweetness to the mellow mineral notes of Pu Erh. Sweet cinnamon and anise with tingly ginger liven up the palate while soothing the soul. A great companion for a chilly day.

P u’erh Tea, Cinnamon Bark, Natural Spice Flavor, Orange peels, Ginger Root, Aniseed and Safflower

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op program here.

Taster’s Review:

To brew:  I used my gaiwan and after a 15 second rinse, I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds in water heated to 190°F.  I added 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion.

My first infusion had a nice balance of sweet and spicy.  The cinnamon, ginger and aniseed offer an intriguing “chai like” flavor which is why I decided to categorize this as not just a Pu-erh tea but also a Chai.  The pu-erh is a deep, mellow flavor that is very smooth.  It’s a little earthy but I find that the earthiness works to this blend’s benefit.  The natural earthy tones of the spices complement the earthy notes of the tea.  I didn’t pick up a lot of orange flavor at first, but as I neared the bottom of my first cup, I started to notice more orange notes, hinting at what is to come with further infusion.

The second infusion allowed me to explore some of the characteristics of the tea a bit more.  It’s earthy, but more like a mushroom-y earthiness. It doesn’t taste brine-y or fishy.  It has a soft texture that reminds me of silky cream and the creaminess seems to translate to the flavor too.  As I mentioned previously, there is a good balance of spicy and sweet.  It’s not overly spicy, it reminds me a bit of pumpkin pie spice with brown sugar … warm and gentle and pleasantly sweet.

With the third infusion, I noticed a much darker color liquid.  The flavor was deeper and smoother this time.  I was getting a profound flavor of the rich, aged tea.  It wasn’t so earthy anymore.  Just deep, molasses-y, with hints of warm spice.  The spice notes are much softer now, but still identifiable.  A very smooth, mellow flavor.

I found that with each subsequent infusion, this tea just became even more delightful to drink.  By the fourth infusion, the spice notes and the tea had become a nearly seamless flavor.  The warm notes of spice were still present; they just seemed to taste like they were part of the tea rather than individual spice notes.  I managed eight lovely infusions from this tea and enjoyed every one of them.

It’s a perfect autumnal tea.  So warm and comforting.  It tastes like autumn.

This is one of the best Pu-erh blends I’ve yet to sample.  I found my experience with this tea to be very enjoyable – this is a really lovely tea.  I’d recommend this to anyone who is looking to expand their tea horizons into the world of Pu-erh.  This tea would be a wonderful “gateway” tea to explore the wonders of a Pu-erh.

2006 Fengqing Raw Pu-erh Tea Tuocha from Teavivre

2006 Fengqing Raw Pu-erh Tea TuochaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Teavivre

Tea Description:

Tuocha, a compressed tea in hollowed hemispheric shape, is mainly produced in Yunnan. This 100g Tuocha is from Fengqing, Lincang, Yunnan.

The materials of Tuocha are from Fengqing large tea speices. Fresh tea leaves will be made into dry tea in traditional craft method after being picked, then will be pressed into nest shape. The appearance of Tuocha reminds you of mountain. While smelling the faint scent of Sheng Pu-erh, you will have the feelings of being in beautiful scenery of Yunnan.

Sheng Pu-erh has strong flavor for first sip. Yet the sweet aftertaste will bring you a wonderful impression. You can feel a hint of sweet as sugarcane remaining in your mouth. 

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

 Sweet!  This Fengqing Raw Pu-erh Tea from Teavivre has an enjoyably sweet flavor, a sweetness that is balanced with notes of sharpness and notes of vegetation, wood and earth (think mushroom).   As I continued to sip, I started to pick up on notes of stone fruit.

I like that with the very first infusion (following a 15 second “rinse”) the flavor is strong and well-defined.  I could taste these flavors with this first cup, I didn’t have to wait until the third or fourth cup to start experiencing the lovely flavor.  I usually find that Pu-erh tends to have a mellow flavor, but this is a bold Pu-erh, and I’m appreciating the differences that this tea offers.

Later infusions surprised me with even stronger flavors!  I still experienced the amazing sweetness, fruit notes (I think I even tasted a hint of grapefruit!) and woodsy tones.  Full-flavored with notes vegetation, but this isn’t like the same kind of “vegetation” that I’d experience if I were drinking a green tea.  This is more like the vegetal flavor you’d experience from a woodsy mushroom.  It’s deep and earthy and flavorful, but in the distance you can taste notes of vegetation.

A deep sweetness – the description above suggests a “sugarcane” like sweetness, and I agree with that assessment – is present throughout the sip, from start to finish.  It lingers in the aftertaste.

A really enjoyable pu-erh experience!  I managed eight infusions from this tea and I suspect I could have gotten even more – the flavor wasn’t quitting!  This tea has many different flavors to explore – a delightfully complex tea.

And when I visited Teavivre’s webpage for this tea, I noticed that this will be part of the #3 Sale Round from August 4 through August 5.  Mark your calendars!

Master Han’s 2014 Wild-Picked Sheng Pu’er Tea from Verdant Tea

master-han-2014Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Verdant Tea

Tea Description:

Master Han is excited to share his fresh, just picked 2014 harvest pu’er. This gorgeous wild-picked, loose leaf sheng pu’er is a unique opportunity to taste the pure, bright flavor notes of a young tea that is full of energy, smooth and absolutely ready to drink.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Back in March, I reviewed the Master Han’s 2013 Wild-Picked Sheng Pu’er Tea which was included in the February Amoda Tea box.  I really enjoyed that Pu’er, so I was only too happy to sample and review the 2014 offering from Master Han.  I figured if I liked that tea, I’d like this one too.  I’m in good hands with Master Han.

The aroma of the dry leaf is interesting and appealing to me, because it doesn’t have the kind of earthy aroma that I would normally associate with a pu-er.  Even a very young pu-er often has an earthy scent.  And I do smell a slight hint of earthiness, but, it’s not the same type of earthy aroma that I would usually smell with a pu-er.  The usual scent is earthy, as in earth … as in dirt.  But I don’t smell that kind of earthiness here.  This is more like a mossy kind of earthiness, like the kind of fragrance you’d experience if walking through a damp wooded area here in the Pacific Northwest (and we’ve got a lot of damp wooded areas up here).  It’s more vegetal than earthy, and I like that.

The flavor is very refreshing!  It is sweet and mild, tasting very different from what I would normally expect from a pu-er.  Sure, I often expect a sweet and mellow flavor, but, this is just different.  It seems to perk up the taste buds as it washes over the palate, it’s almost like a champagne-y, bubbly type of uplifting flavor.  I’m not getting quite the creamy flavor that I experienced with the 2013 version of this tea.

This time, I taste rice.  Like the sticky rice that I’d get in an inverted bowl shape on my plate at a Chinese food restaurant, with notes of sweet, buttery corn.  Rather than the sweet, creamy notes that I experienced with the 2013 pu-er, I taste more of a sweet, starchy sort of flavor that is quite compelling.  There are some hints of nutty flavors as well, like a creamy cashew flavor – unsalted and not roasted.  I feel like I’m eating rather than sipping, and it’s a very satisfying experience.  This is the tea I’d want to drink if I were feeling hungry and it was still a little while before mealtime.

The second infusion was not quite as softly, creamy sweet from the starchy flavor.  Those flavors are still there, but they are not quite as up front and obvious as they were in the first infusion.  With the first infusion, it was all about those flavors, and this time, they seem to have settled back into the background to allow the palate to explore what other flavors this tea has to offer.

This cup feels thicker in texture, but it’s not as creamy.  It’s more like a soup or a broth this time, whereas the first infusion was more like an infusion of rice, corn and barley.  This infusion has some dry mineral notes to it.  I pick up on some gentle floral tones and some warm spice notes with this infusion as well.

The third infusion delivered another very interesting cup!  This is where some of the promised miso flavors that I read about in the tasting notes on the website came through.  Still a delightfully brothy cup, I’m picking up on some savory notes this time around.  I taste more of the aforementioned sweet corn notes too which is a nice contrast to the savory broth notes.  There is still some of the dry, mineral notes as well, but they are less prevalent now.

Each infusion seems to deliver a deeper flavor with some new profiles to discover, but with subtle reminders of what was experienced in the earlier infusions.  This tea is truly an adventure waiting to be be taken.  If you are one who is curious to try pu-er, this is a good place to start for the simple reason that it doesn’t possess some of the characteristics that often turn people off when it comes to pu-er.  And if you’re an experienced pu-er drinker, this is one you should try if for no other reason than to experience the quality of Master Han and Verdant Tea.

Pu-erh Tahiti Blend from Simple Loose Leaf

pu_erh_tahitiTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Simple Loose Leaf

Tea Description:

Decadent coconut, the fruity mystique of papaya and the soft earthiness of pu erh come together for an exotic experience not unlike a walk on the black sand beaches of its namesake. Tropical fruit notes and hints of mineral evoke thoughts of Pacific breezes and rainforest hikes.

Ingredients: Pu’erh Tea, Apple Pieces, Dried Coconut, Natural Coconut Flavor, Marigold Flowers, Mango Pieces, Papaya Flavor

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.

Taster’s Review:

I’ve tasted a lot of tropical flavored teas.  A lot.  It seems to be one of the “favorite” fruit medley flavors when it comes to tea.  But, most of the fruit combinations are different, because there’s a lot of different tropical fruits from which to choose.

And when it comes to tropical flavored teas, I usually think immediately of a black tea base.  That’s because most of the tropical flavored teas that I’ve encountered have been black teas.  But because I have tasted so many tropical flavored teas, the tropical blends that are memorable, the ones that manage to stand out in my memory as something I’d like to have again, they are usually the teas with a different base (other than black tea).  The tropical flavored white teas or green teas, for example, are more memorable for me.

So even though I tend to be a little nervous when it comes to Pu-erh teas, I was a little excited at the prospect of tasting a tropical fruit flavored Pu-erh!

When I opened the pouch of this Tahiti Pu-erh, I was really happy to not be greeted by an overly earthy scent.  In fact, I didn’t really detect any earthiness with my initial casual (and admittedly, somewhat apprehensive) sniff.  When I took another – more intent – sniff, I could pick up hints of earthiness, but these notes seemed to meld with the notes of coconut, mango and papaya.  Nice!

The brewed tea has a slightly more earthy scent than the dry leaf, and that could be because I did give the blend a 15 second “rinse” before I brewed it.  I do this with all pu-erh, I find that the pu-erh is much more agreeable for me when I do this.  (And from what I understand, it’s something that you SHOULD do with pu-erh and Oolong teas.)

tahiti
Image from Wikipedia. Click on the pic to go there.

This is tasty.  There are some earthy and mineral notes to the pu-erh, but, I like that these notes have married nicely with the notes of tropical fruit.  I taste the papaya and mango and coconut, and these flavors are well-balanced with the flavor of the pu-erh, which tastes smooth and mellow.  It’s a little bit like a trip to Tahiti in a teacup.  (I’m only guessing, I’ve never been to Tahiti.)

The fruit flavors are not overpowering the tea, and there is a part of me that would have said that I would like for the fruit flavors to overpower the tea – before I tasted it, that is!  Before tasting a pu-erh, there’s still that timid tea drinker that is just a wee bit afraid of pu-erh.  Those early occasions where I first experienced pu-erh, before I knew how to brew a pu-erh for my palate and before my palate developed … I did NOT like pu-erh.  Now I do.  Now my palate finds most pu-erh agreeable, although I still don’t have a great appreciation for an overly earthy, fishy, or briny tasting pu-erh.  Fortunately, this pu-erh isn’t like that.

And now that I have tasted this pu-erh, I’m happy that a good balance has been achieved with this blend.  The fruit flavors are tasted but not overpowered, nor is the tea too fishy, briny or earthy.  It’s just … tasty!

I know I say this a lot, but, I’m really thrilled with the teas that I get each month from Simple Loose Leaf as part of their Selection Club subscription program.  I can’t recommend this program enough!  It’s a great way (and it’s economical!) to try new teas and expand your tea repertoire.

To save 25% when you sign up for this great program, use the code SISTERSELECTION25.  This will earn you the discount, and get you well on your way to sampling some amazing teas!  This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.