An afternoon of meetings calls for a sweet, ripe pu’erh, or at least, that’s how I feel about it.
I grabbed this tea for the first time, and it delivered. I got something rich. Something heavy. Something that could help me beat up the opposition.
This isn’t a fishy or old-tasting or spicy pu’erh. It’s a beautiful older woman. It’s basically a bunch of flowers, wisened with age, kind of tough. Like Olenna Tyrell.
This tea is called “forest song” because — as I discovered on Global Tea Hut’s blog — trees respond to sound. It turns out that plants grow best when they’re exposed to the same sort of pitches as birdsong. Birds are the sign of a healthy forest. So when trees hear those pitches, they grow better.
As nature gets trashed by global warming, deforestation, extinction, etc, the songs of the forest are going to change. And tea production is going to change.
That’s right, guys: our planet’s tea is at risk.
Call Captain Planet.
We’ve gotta fix this.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Global Tea Hut
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
My Monday Adventure with Raspberry Black Pine/Teaside. . . .
Happy Monday morning tea friends!
Today, I needed a tea adventure. I needed something different than my usual. Work has been a bit more complex lately and I wanted something unique to enjoy and distract me from what was going on in my inbox. So I closed my eyes and grabbed this beauty from Teaside- Raspbery Black Pine, a Shu pu-erh. Pu-erh and I are acquaintances and I don’t spend the time I need to with this tea variety. I’ve tried and tried to really get into pu-erh but for the most part, I become very overwhelmed. I see all of these amazing pics on Instagram and the knowledge those folks have of pu-erh and I so want to be in that crowd- but always seem to see another shiny spoon or dive back into my favorite oolongs or a solid black tea instead.
To get my tea party started, I prepped up my water and brought out my new gaiwan and started to get myself centered. I completed my first rinse of the lovely tea and started working on my first steeping. First steeping in, I was really taken back my how lovely the brew looked. Rich tones of brown with a hint of red almost purple around the edges. Took a sip and really only got creamy notes and not a whole lot of anything else. I’m assuming I just didn’t steep long enough so I went about setting up my next cuppa. The next few goes were a bit of the same so I added a bit more leaf, allowed the tea to brew longer, and tried again.
This time, the taste was more what I was looking for. The earthy notes were really shining and there was a hint of a sweetness here and there but I wouldn’t say it was fruity. A nutty note is also creaping in. Delicious and incerdibly warming.
Reading over the views, it appears this shu dose take a few steeps before really opening up and I think I’m hitting that point now. Each sip I’m really digging this tea more and more. The aftertaste is really started to define itself and I’m almost loving that tail end of the sip more than the actual drinking of the tea.
Right here is one of the reasons why I love tea so very much. The adventure the tea takes you while you are going about your day. This would be a lovely tea to really sit and enjoy but unfortunately, my days anymore are a bit busy so I will be enjoying this delight the best way I can today.
As a lof of us tea enthusiasts say- there is no wrong way to enjoy tea. I know that I may not be steeping this tea in a 100% true gongfu fashion but my set and this lovely ripe pu-erh up is truly adding some much needed tea love to my day. Excited to see what additional steeps bring me today!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teaside
Description
Craft Shou (Ripe) Pu-erh made of spring 2018 material from Thai 300-500-year-old trees. Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand, 1300 meters above sea level.
Fermented in September 2018.
The dry tea smells milky, raspberry and conifer with hints of salinity. In the taste is an interesting interweaving of coniferous oily tones with raspberries and dairy. Since the 3-4 infusion, sweet woodiness and almonds appear. Aftertaste with pine and walnut tones, slight bitterness.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Vanilla Almond Pu Erh/Fusion Sweets. . . .
This powerful punch of vanilla tastes like a wedding cake. A nice, moist (ewwww, did she say “moist”?), expensive nuptial dessert. The pu’erh adds a deeper swirl to the affair, maybe a little bit of chocolate or nutella.
I’m actually transported back to my own wedding cake, which was orange and purple with an ocean theme. Its creamy flavor was marzipan FOR DAYS.
My dress was too tight because I’m the only person on earth who GAINS weight for a wedding, so I wasn’t able to fit much in my tummy, and whoosh, it was all gone. My friends are LOCUSTS.
Well, I get my vengeance now. I can have my cake, and drink it, too
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Fusion Sweets
Description
The rich flavor of fermented pu erh tea is sweetened with vanilla beans and the scent of almonds.
A great after dinner dessert tea that tastes like marzipan with none of the calories!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chorange Puerh/Adagio Teas
I
have seen this tea compared to those chocolate oranges that you see for sale around Christmas. Would you believe I have never had one? After drinking this tea, you can bet I am going to try one this year!
This tea combines three things I really like – good chocolate, orange, and puerh. When I opened the bag, a rich, deep chocolate aroma wafted out and beckoned me like I was in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. First steep was served with breakfast, second is a leisurely cup after.
I often cut the steep time on puerh and did so with the Puerh Poe by Adagio with excellent results for many, many steeps. Watching the color of this one in the glass teapot, I decided to let it stay for three minutes. I generally steep puerh by observing color.
Oh my. Oh yes. I am not disappointed. First taste is chocolate, orange on the swallow, chocolate in the aftertaste. The puerh flavor is not very strong and is mainly earthy rather than horsey or fishy. I debated as to whether in a blind taste test someone could convince me that this was a flavored black tea instead, but I think there is enough earthiness to indicate puerh without turning off people who are not familiar with it.
I did find that aerating the tea in your mouth (by opening and closing the jaw without opening the lips) intensifies the orange flavor. On the second steep I felt that the orange was more pronounced and the chocolate less intense until it cooled a bit, and then the chocolate strengthened again. I don’t think this one is going to go seven steeps like Poe, though.
Would I buy it again? Oh yes, I would buy it again.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Puerh Tea
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
2008 Menghai Ripened Puerh/Teavivre
I was introduced to Teavivre by a Tea Friend on Facebook. She told me that it was some of the best teas she had ever tried.
With that glowing recommendation I went to check out their site. They had a fantastic promotion going where you could get 5 FREE samples if you paid the $4.90 shipping.
What an awesome deal!
When I opened the sample bag I had a hard time smelling the pu-erh so I poured it into my Gaiwan. Once it was in there I was able to smell a sweet, fruity, honey-like aroma. It was such a nice smell I was excited for my first sip! Teavivre recommends the brew temperature of 212ºF for 3-5 minutes.
However, if you look on their website that is if you are making a full cup. Since I am making my Pu-erh in a Gaiwan they had different instructions!
For the Chinese Gongfu Method they recommend to still use 212ºF water for 12 separate steepings: rinse twice, 15 seconds, 15s, 15s, 15s, 15s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, 100s, 160s. It goes on to say that each rinse time is 5 seconds.
As the first and second rinse steeped I could tell why they recommended a rinse, these first steepings had an almost smoky aroma which I wasn’t expecting. I am not a huge fan of smoky teas so I was a little nervous.
By the first 15 second steeping the smoky smell had completely disappeared and I was left with a mild, sweet smell with just the right amount of earthiness. There was a light nuttiness to the flavor which was incredibly pleasant. As I went through each steeping the tea became sweeter and more floral in aroma and kept the sweet but nutty flavor.
I absolutely loved this tea and would highly recommend it to anyone that likes a darker tea or is generally curious about Pu-erh tea. This is a great starter pu-erh, the sweet flavor will pull you in! Also, since it is so low in caffeine (less than 10% of a cup of coffee) it is one that you can drink at any time of day. Also, since you can get so many steepings out of the tea leaves it is absolutely worth the money you spend.
I look forward to adding more of this tea to my cabinet!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Soft and smooth, rich and thick texture
