I love toffee. When I was younger I used to not even want them to be coated in chocolate, I just wanted that salty, sweet, and nutty toffee. As an adult, I appreciate the creamy chocolate coating much more, and when I think of an English Toffee tea, cocoa definitely comes to mind. So does caramel, nuts, and that buttery toffee taste. I have been eating toffee my entire life, I am a self proclaimed expert! So when I try any kind of toffee tea it is going to take a lot to knock my socks off.
I actually delayed trying this one for a while….it came in my Advent calendar over Christmastime from DAVID’s. (It’s May) I don’t really know why I delayed trying it, I guess I was just so busy trying other teas that I didn’t have the strongest interest. But today is a rainy and stormy day, and i’m in the mood for something comforting and chocolatey. My first thought when I took my first sip of this blend was that it would be an amazing latte. Some frothed milk and a caramel drizzle? Holy yum. My next thought was that I wish I had tried this over the winter because this tea would have been my favorite! I don’t usually drink pu’erh like at all…but I don’t mind it one bit! It is very smooth and holds up well to the rich and creamy flavors of cocoa, caramel, and browned butter. This tea is sweet and satisfying. A great dessert blend that would even go well in the morning as a latte with a shot of espresso. A delicious caffeine boost!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This decadent, all-natural blend of pu’erh, cocoa and caramel is the perfect sweet treat.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Energy Pu-Erh from Komo Tea
The dry leaves are colorful with a strong berry fragrance. The look and smell make me feel very confident in the health value of this tea. A lot of the Chinese ingredients, I hadn’t tried before.
Naturally Pu-Erh has caffeine, then there’s an herbal boost from being hand blended with adaptagen herbs (which I totally googled, I’m not THAT granola. They’re good for stress).
This cold brewed up to be a deep maroon but the mouthfeel was very smooth. At first sniff I thought I couldn’t handle the flavor, but the cinnamon balances the fruit really well, like Dean from Supernatural eating a cherry pie. Very doable.
Overall, I believe this is a great tea, at the same time, one of the ingredients is more of an acquired taste… that I just haven’t acquired yet.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu-Erh
Where to Buy: Komo Tea
Organic pu-erh tea from Yunnan Province, China is hand blended with adaptogen herbs – nature’s miracle anti-stress and fatigue fighters – producing fruity and spicy flavors that invigorate body and mind. Whether you’re looking for a mid-morning pick me up or a power boost before a workout, Energy gives you the endurance to power through when it counts.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Raw Puerh from Teaspec. . .
This is my second voyage with Teaspec’s Puerh. I tried their Ripe Puerh earlier this week and was quite surprised how much I enjoyed the dark robust earthy tones. I was excited to check out the Raw Puerh that Teaspec had so graciously allowed The SororiTea Sisters to check out.
Allowed to brew and cool for a moment, this tea was just as exciting as the Ripe Puerh. Unlike the Ripe version, this puerh gave me a lovely smooth rich tangy flavor. Incredibly well balanced. The earthy dark notes were still present but not as strong as the Ripe. There was also a slight hint of a smoky sweet tone, which I found quite intriguing.
Puerh is one of those teas that just keep me intrigued enough that I still dip my toe into this variety of tea now and then. I’ve always been more of a green tea girl but after enjoying both the Raw and Ripe Puerhs from Teaspec,
Looking at Teaspec’s site, they have an amazing offering of teas that are calling my name. There is a Jasmine Envy (green jasmine) and a Jade Allure (roasted green tea) that I have to know more about.
Overall my experience with Teaspec’s Puerh has been one that has opened my eyes (once again) to a variety of tea that I’ve always looked over. I need to be better about introducing puerh’s into my daily drinking regimen.
Thank you Teaspec for this wonderful introduction into Puerhs!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Teaspec
Description
Our raw Pu’er loose tea, Raw Dazzle, has a smoky floral aroma, fruity savoriness with a tangy aftertaste, and is made from high-quality tea leaves. Each 50g (1.76 oz) comes packaged in a clear pouch inside our custom colored robin’s egg blue round canister and decorative box.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ripe Puerh from Teaspec. . . . . .
Puerh is one of those varieties of tea that intimidates me. In the past, I’ve had these teas go horribly wrong me and those situation just stick in my head when I go to think abut trying to drink puerh again. I will admit it. I recently purchased a good variety of puerh from a well renowned and adored company yet a good chunk of that order is still untouched. I just find myself grabbing my beloved green or white teas.
Well today I broke out of my tea safety zone and tried a ripe puerh from Teaspec. I also tried their raw puerh but that will be for another day.
Prepped my water, and brewed the tea. I have to say, I instantly fell in love with the earthy aromas that were omitting from my tea cup. I was hoping those tones would translate into a rich robust brew with earthy notes and that is exactly what happened. This tea was full of an earthy undertone with a full bodied feel. I will be honest and say that I totally winged the brewing and steeping parameters which may have caused an abundance of that earthy flavor but never the less, I drank my cuppa done and starting prepping the water for a second cup.
This may not be a tea that I would drink everyday but I love the rich earthy tones that just do not disappoint sip after glorious sip.
I may not have brewed the tea exactly correct, but I loved the flavor that I was able to produce. I have to say, my first experience with Teaspec’s Ripe Puerh and I may have just dabbed my toe into a new tea adventure.
Anybody have any good suggestions and/or advice for a puerh newbie?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Teaspec
Description
Our ripe Pu’er loose tea, Ripe Marvel, has a mildly aromatic taste with a more mellow, full-bodied flavour, and is made from extremely high-quality tea leaves. Each 50g (1.76 oz) comes packaged in a clear pouch inside our custom colored magenta canister and decorative box.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
2014 Bingdao Laozhai Huangpian from Wymm Tea. . . .
I broke a lot of rules today. Some of them were my rules. Some of them were tea rules. But everything came out okay!
The first rule I broke was – no tea on an empty stomach. This is my rule. I have a sensitive stomach, a dodgy esophagus, and I can get heartburn looking at a bowl of chili. I wasn’t hungry and I wanted tea, so RULE DISREGARDED.
The second rule I broke was – rinse puerh leaves and discard the rinse water. I confess I break this rule a lot. Sometimes I am glad, sometimes not. This time – oh yeh, glad. That first steep was delish. I kept it oh so short and sweet. Golden color, scent of menthol, smooth, and sweet.
Steep two – didn’t time it! Another broken rule! This is golden and rich in color and LIVELY on the tongue. So much energy in this tea! Like a precocious but adorable pre-teen that you love spending time with but who maybe wears you out a little in big doses.
Steep three – ah, you are a nice tea with a bite of thin cinnamon cookie. Still golden. Still lively.
Steep four – with lunch now. A bit mellower and lovely with food. Hay, white tea-ish but with a vibrant energy. Bright and raw. Go to their website to learn in depth about each tea they carry!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Puerh
Where to Buy: Wymm Tea
Description
This sheng pu-erh brews a bright golden liquor. It has notes of cut hay and earth in its aroma, complimented with a bold almond, buttery flavour.
We were lucky enough to obtain some of these huangpian which give insights into the highly sought after Bingdao Laozhai sheng pu-erh. Bingdao Laozhai is a place renowned in the Yunnan tea industry. Situated at 1400-2000 meters mountaintops, it is the one and only high altitude village occupied by Dai minority group in the Mengku town region. The price of pu-erh from this village would go into the thousands due to the extremely limited supply. Please visit our Bingdao Laozhai pu-erh blog post to learn more about it.
These huangpian are picked from the same trees as the Bingdao Laozhai, the only difference being that it is less aesthetically pleasing; the bigger leaves (huangpian) are filtered out so that the remaining leaves are neat and symmetrical when pressed into cakes. These bigger leaves are often kept by the tea farmers for personal consumption and are rarely found in the market. Even though the huangpian do not have the tidy appearance of its counterparts, it possesses similar taste characteristics and are sometimes considered more flavourful as the leaves spent longer period of time growing on the trees.
