Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: White Two Tea
Tea Description:
An old arbor Menghai blend. Thick body, lingering kuwei [pleasant bitterness], and plenty of oomph. This tea is a continuation of last year’s New Amerykah. The blend is slightly different, focusing more on sweetness and body than on bitterness.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little worried when I read the description to this 2014 New Amerykah 2 Raw Pu-erh from White Two Tea. I’m not a big fan of bitterness – although sometimes I find a savory bitterness to be quite pleasant especially when it contrasts with a stronger sweetness in a tea, so I hoped that might be what I experienced with this tea.
My first infusion wasn’t as sweet as I secretly hoped for but there is a really nice balance between the savory bitter note and the sweetness. It’s not what I’d describe as a sweet tea, this is definitely more a savory tasting tea. But it’s pleasant and actually kind of a nice change up from some of the sweeter teas that I’ve had.
It’s very mellow and not at all earthy as I would generally expect from a pu-erh tea. No briny taste, no fishy taste, not even a slight ‘mushroom-y’ taste. It’s light and slightly herbaceous. It’s a very mild taste, very pleasant to sip – so pleasant in fact, that the tea disappeared rapidly.
My second infusion has a much stronger flavor. There is nothing mild about this cup! But it still isn’t what I’d call earthy. Herbaceous, yes. There is a distinct bitter note, like a bitter grass flavor, or like what I might experience if I were to eat collard greens.
This cup is not nearly as balanced as the first cup was. I almost feel like this could use a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar in it to help balance it out and offer some tangy notes as well as a hint of sweetness. It tastes like it needs ‘salad dressing’, if that makes sense. It’s not unpleasant though. I notice that toward the end of the sip, I get some sweetness and almost like a hint of citrus in the finish and these flavors do help balance out the bitter notes.
Interestingly enough, I found that the third infusion was much more like the first than it was the second. The flavors were stronger in the third cup than the first, but, I found that the strong bitterness had subsided somewhat and become a little smoother and balanced with the sweet notes.
It’s still primarily a savory tea (again, not a tea I’d call sweet) but there is more sweetness now to soften the savory bitter taste. There is a dryness to this cup too, like a mineral-y dry note just after mid-sip that transcends into a slightly dry astringency. I notice some grape-y notes here, reminding me just a little bit of a dry white wine.
Later infusions continued to become smoother and more balanced. I think that my favorite was the fourth infusion, which seemed to me to be the perfect balance between savory and sweet without tasting ‘sweet.’ It was still a distinctly savory tea with its bitter characteristics but there was enough sweetness to soften the bitter bite and keep the taste balanced for the palate.
As I drank the sixth infusion, I felt the flavors were starting to wane somewhat so I decided to stop with this tea. I suspect I could have still gotten at least two more (possibly more) flavorful infusions, but, I was ready to move on anyway.
What I like best about this particular pu-erh is the lack of earthiness. No strong earthy notes in the aroma. Not a strong earthy flavor. I also like that with each new infusion, I discovered something new about this tea. It captured my interest with its smooth, mellow character in the first infusion and it seemed to reinvent itself with each new infusion to keep hold of my interest.
A very different pu-erh – but different in a very good way!
Mangnuo Cane Tea Raw Pu-erh (Ancient Tree Early Spring 2014) from Wymm Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Wymm Tea
Tea Description:
This is Wymm’s signature tea. It is a sheng pu-erh that brews bright golden with a rich and sweet flavour, and with the aroma of fresh-cut grass in the morning. For the initial 6 steeps, there is a pronounce bitter taste that lingers in back of the tongue with hints of astringency, which are slowly replaced with a bold honey aftertaste. The liquor is heady because of the ultra concentrated nutrients in this tea. Each serving of this tea can be steeped up to 20 times.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Good stuff! This Mangnuo Cane Tea Raw Pu-erh (Ancient Tree Early Spring 2014) from Wymm Tea is really nice.
I’m only on my first cup at the moment, but I’m really enjoying the strong sugary notes to this cup. I taste subtle notes of grass and a light astringency. It has a pleasant, light flavor overall, with the most forward notes tasting sweet – like something in between a sugary molasses and honey.
My second infusion was even nicer than the first. The sweet notes seem to be even stronger. I’m picking up on some delicate floral notes. The astringency is still there and it seems to be developing. There is a distinct dry note toward the finish. Vegetal notes are more defined now too, with a slight bitterness toward the finish. Not an off-putting bitterness, but more of a savory bitterness to contrast with the sugary sweet notes.
My third infusion was very much like the second. The fourth infusion was my favorite – the flavors became smoother and I found the astringency starting to wane. It wasn’t quite as sweet, but there was a nice balance between sweet, hints of bitter and light grassy tones. It was really quite pleasant.
The fifth infusion was pleasantly mellow. Sweet and refreshing taste. Hints of grass but very little bitterness. Just smooth, mellow sweetness. Later infusions began to pick up on the astringency again and since I’m not a big fan of the astringency, especially with such a mellow tea, I decided to stop with seven infusions.
Overall, a very pleasant pu-erh. I liked that it didn’t have a strong, earthy character nor was I experiencing a briny or fishy sort of flavor. Just a really pleasant vegetal note and some really remarkable sweet tones. It’s quite nice.
Menghai Shou Pu-erh Third Grade (2008) from Wymm Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Wymm Tea
Tea Description:
This shu pu-erh brews with a rich and honey flavor and long-lasting jasmine rice aroma. Small buds from high mountains in Menghai County, located in west of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, are picked to make the tea in 2008. Pu-erh tea has the potential to ferment over time, and this tea has been post-fermented for 6 years since production. Post-fermentation gives the tea vibrant flavours and richer aroma as well as deep wine colour.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was so excited when I received my package from Wymm Tea! What a fun presentation I received from them! They sent me four samples of Pu-erh and they were all nestled in this really cute carton. I really love it when a tea company puts thought into their packaging like this. It’s a little like getting a gift in the mail. And the only thing that’s just as much fun as getting tea in the mail is getting a gift in the mail – when the two are combined – we’re talking Pure Tea Joy!
And it may surprise you to hear that the tea inside that carton is also eliciting joy from me too! Yep, it’s pu-erh, and yep … it’s making me happy! Each of the samples was wrapped in rice paper (I love rice paper) and it was like a little gift inside each rice paper bundle!
I’m really enjoying this Menghai Shou Pu-erh Third Grade (2008) from Wymm Tea. My first two infusions were very mellow – mild tasting with very little earthiness (I like that a lot!) but with a deep, lovely flavor that evoked thoughts of molasses. I also pick up on some slight woodsy/earthy notes that remind me of a walk through the woods after a rain. (There are a lot of places up here in the Pacific Northwest that offer that kind of experience!)
These first two cups disappeared so quickly, that I’m having to write most of this from the memory of them.
My third cup has a stronger flavor than the first two. It’s a very mellow tasting tea with a very delicate earthiness to the flavor. The earthiness slowly emerges with this tea and I like that. I’m not being hit over the head with a strong, earthy flavor.
I taste notes of jasmine rice (a favorite staple in this house). The texture is smooth and there is no astringency. No bitterness. It’s sweet, molasses-y, with hints of rice. I’m not tasting any briny, fishy or other ‘odd’ undesirable flavors that sometimes are tasted with Pu-erh – this is the GOOD stuff.
I find that with each new cup of this tea – the flavor gets deeper with a more developed sweetness. I never encounter any bitterness or strong, off-putting flavors. Just a lovely, mild, remarkably smooth tea experience.
And, just in case you’re wondering what the different “grades” mean, according to the website:
First grade contains the smallest leaves while seventh grade contains the largest leaves. There is marginal difference in the taste; first grade has a slightly stronger and woodier flavour, while the seventh grade has a milder and sweeter flavour. The third and fifth grades fall in between of the first and seventh grade.
And if this tea is something “in between a stronger/woodier flavor and the sweet/mild flavor, then I’m in for a real treat when I get to the seventh grade tea!
A really lovely, delightful ancient tree pu-erh – I highly recommend it!
Fengqing Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea (2013) from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
This Ripe Pu-erh Cake Teavivre choose is from the representative Pu-erh production area Fengqing. Fengqing is the original place of the world-wide famous Dian Hong Tea. And it is also a classic place of Yunnan Pu-erh. It is a place in Lingcang which is one of the four famous Pu-erh production areas. The taste of Fengqing Pu-erh is mellow and sweet, deeper than Pu-erh in other production area. And it usually has the flowery flavor of Dian Hong Tea. The tea leaves used to make this Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea are all pure leaves hand-picked from 50 to 100 years old Large-leaf Arbor Tea Trees.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Fengqing Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea from Teavivre is a really lovely pu-erh. It’s a delightfully mild tea – very smooth and sweet!
To brew this tea, I grabbed my gaiwan. I broke pieces of the cake off into my gaiwan with a knife and eyeballed the measurement until it looked like about a bamboo scoop of tea. Then I poured enough hot water (180°F) to cover the leaves and let it steep for 15 seconds and then I strained off the liquid and discarded it. (The rinse!) Then I filled the gaiwan with more water and let it steep for 45 seconds.
The aroma is a little loam-y but I’m not getting a strong earthy flavor, which I’m very happy about. What little earthiness I taste is more like a mushroom than it is like ‘earth.’ Yay! The flavor is sweet, like dates and honey. I’m also getting an interesting contrast to the sweetness, it almost tastes ‘salty’ but without tasting briny or fish-like, it’s almost as if someone might have sprinkled a couple of grains of salt into my cup.
It’s a remarkably smooth tea with no indication of astringency or bitterness. As I continue to sip, I pick up on notes of leather.
Before I knew it, that first cup was gone!
The second cup was a bit more earthy in flavor than the first, tasting a bit more like the loam notes that I smell. Still pleasantly sweet, I notice the notes of leather starting to develop, and I’m also picking up on notes of raw bittersweet cacao. I’m not getting any of that contrasting salt note that I noticed in the first cup. The flavor has deepened and intensified from the first – it’s as if they’re two totally different teas!
Later infusions were less earthy, it seemed like that second cup was the earthiest of the bunch and then after that cup, the earthy notes began to wane. I think the third and fourth cups were my favorite, the flavors were deep yet mellow with notes of dark chocolate, dates, and honey. I picked up on a mid-note of leather with an undertone of mushroom.
A very pleasant cup … oh-so-smooth!
Chocolate Mini Shu Pu-er (2000) from White Two Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: White Two Tea
Tea Description:
The 2000 Chocolate Mini Shu Puer bricks are so named for their small shape, rather than their flavor, which is more of a fruity sweetness. Each tin contains 100 grams of tea, which brews up dark and smooth. We recommend breaking the bricks apart and giving them a rinse, as some still have very tight compression and take awhile to open up.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
These little Mini tea cakes do look a little bit like a square of chocolate! They don’t really smell like it though. Dry, the aroma is earthy. The brewed liquid has a softer scent, still earthy but the aroma is not quite as strong.
To brew this, I grabbed my gaiwan! I broke the brick off into layers with a knife – this is a very tightly compressed brick! Using 195°F water, I did a 15 second rinse and discarded the liquid, and then I filled the gaiwan with more hot water and let it steep for 30 seconds. Ordinarily, I would steep it for 45 seconds but after 30 seconds, the liquid was quite dark so I decided to go ahead and strain off the tea at 30 seconds.
And I’m glad I did! This first infusion was perfect!
The flavor is sweet! Just as the description above suggests, the flavor has a fruity sweetness. I taste notes of sweet plum and even a hint of peach. The sweetness is profound, with notes of molasses along with the sweet fruit tones.
The flavor isn’t really chocolate-y. There are notes of earth – but they are far more subtle than the aroma of the dry leaf and even than the brewed tea might lead you to think. It’s a gentle earthiness that evokes thoughts of mushroom. It’s a very smooth tasting tea with no astringency or bitterness. It has a pleasant mouthfeel.
It’s a really enjoyable pu-erh.
And of course, with a pu-erh, I’m treated to many wonderful infusions! The second infusion I steeped for just 30 seconds as well, and it was a very deep, full taste. Very mellow! In later infusions, the earthy flavors developed and I started to pick up on some woodsy flavors that evoked thoughts of the damp wooded areas up here in the Pacific Northwest.
The plum and peach notes seemed to subside a little bit, or maybe I should say that the fruit flavors developed into more of a date and fig flavor with notes of dark raisin. I liked the way these sweeter fruit flavors tasted with the notes of molasses. It was quite an enjoyable experience.
A really nice tea with which to spend an afternoon!