Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
This Palace Pu’er Tea (Gong Ting 宫廷普洱) carefully selected by Teavivre is produced in Mengku, Lincang, which is a representative producing area of Yunnan pu’er tea and one of the famous five tea-producing areas in Yunnan.
The pure flavor, the mellow taste, the exposed gold coins make this kind of high-quality tea deserve to be appreciated carefully.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said before (more than once), I’ve not always been so fond of Pu-erh. I think my taste buds have not only matured, but, also that I’ve learned more about the best way to brew teas including Pu-erh and this really has made a huge difference in how I’ve come to enjoy it.
But even so, Pu-erh still sometimes scare me, especially when they come off smelling very earthy. And that is just what this tea did. When I opened the pouch, I didn’t notice it quite as much as just after I brewed it. When I poured it from my gaiwan, I really noticed a strong, earthy smell – it smelled of earth, reminiscent of peat, and also slightly of leather and wood.
I took a very apprehensive sip, but was so pleased to discover that this tastes less of earth than the aroma had lead me to believe. Instead, this tastes sweet and remarkably smooth. No bitterness or astringency at all. It has a buttery sweetness – not so much like a buttery note that you might experience with a green tea or an Oolong, but more of the buttery taste in butter toffee or browned butter that’s been poured over the crust of a freshly baked loaf of bread.
It has an earthy flavor too, of course, but, it isn’t as prominent as I expected it to be. It is very mellow tasting, and the flavor seems to improve with each subsequent infusion, so do take the time to explore this tea thoroughly!
A really amazing Pu-erh. And after a visit to Teavivre’s website, I noticed that this particular tea is 10% off through July 15! Time to stock up on this, you’ll be glad you did.
Wild Purple Buds Puerh from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh (Purple)
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Wild Purple Buds Puerh originates from Yunnan, China on the border of China and Burma. This tea was harvested from wild ancient trees at an altitude of 6,000 feet by the Wa tribal people in 2011. Our puerh falls in the Sheng (raw) category of puerh and is in loose leaf-form. The buds of this tea are purple, green, and yellow. Purple buds indicate a higher level of anthocyanin (a flavoniod). This flavonoid usually causes bitterness but does not in this case as this is a smooth puerh. Our puerh has light smoked oak notes with honey and floral notes and has a juicy mouthfeel. This rare tea is of limited supply.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I guess I should have read the steeping parameters for this one before I brewed it! haha! The recommended steep time is just 3 seconds! I steeped it for 45 seconds in my gaiwan after rinsing. After that time, the infusion as so light in color, it looked like a white tea! It certainly did not look like Pu-erh. I was worried I did something wrong, or maybe that 45 seconds was not long enough … and then I learn that I should have only steeped for 3 seconds.
After 45 seconds, the flavor is intense. It is rich, earthy, and a little sharp from the smoky tones, but not at all bitter. It has a lovely honey-esque undertone to it as well as a mineral-y overtone. It has a lighter body than a typical Pu-erh, it doesn’t feel real “heavy” the way that Pu-erh can often feel, but at the same time, there is a whole lot of flavor to it.
For the second infusion, I decided to steep it a little less time … not 3 seconds, since I figured after steeping it for 45 seconds, 3 seconds would be weak. So I steeped it for 30 seconds this time, and the flavor is very much like the first cup, but I notice that the mineral notes are softer, and the honey notes are tapering to a more floral sweetness. It’s still earthy and oaken, and has a pleasant crispness to it. It is quite enjoyable.
I found the third, fourth and fifth infusions to be very similar to the first and second, but by the sixth infusion, the flavor was becoming even smoother. The flavor is still rich and was by no means becoming weaker, but by this sixth infusion the flavors seemed to have melded together seamlessly. The smoky note here is fantastic. So deliciously savory, and a delightful contrast to the sweet tones of this cup. I notice less of the mineral notes now, and an almost bean-like vegetal note has emerged that marries with the smoky notes so delectably.
This tea is still going strong! As the day was coming to a close, I decided to put the leaves aside for the next day. Well, the next day is here now, and I’ve been steeping this tea! This is now my eighth infusion. The seventh infusion was delightful, reminding me of the flavors that I enjoyed last night: slightly mineral, sweet, floral, honey, vegetal, earth, and oak. This infusion is similar. Each infusion becomes smoother, and … I don’t want to say that the flavor gets “softer” as in weaker… but softer as in silkier, smoother, and easier to sip.
I am astonished at the endurance of this tea. It just keeps on going. I still have not brought the steep time to over 1 minute, and I am now on my ninth infusion. The flavors are still there, and still very enjoyable. I have a feeling that this tea is going to go on for a while still, but, I think that by now, you – the reader – gets the point, which is to TRY THIS TEA!
Seriously: try this tea. If you love Puerh, you must try it… even if you don’t really care for Puerh, give this one a try, if for no other reason than to expand your horizons a bit. You might find that this Puerh is to your liking… as it is quite unlike any Puerh I’ve ever tried.
2006 Guan Zi Zai Sheng Puerh Meng Ku Bing Dao Ancient Tree Tea from Life In Teacup
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Life in Teacup
Tea Description:
Production Year – 2006/Production Season: Spring/Production Region: Yunnan, Lincang, Mengku
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! What a name, huh? With a name like that, this had better taste good. I want it to be worthy of so many keystrokes.
And I’m happy to say that it is – at least, in my opinion! This is remarkably sweet and incredibly smooth, with a pleasantly broth-like mouthfeel, and without some of the stronger earthy notes that I often expect from a Pu-erh. Sure, this has an earthiness to it, but, it doesn’t taste like dirt. It is more of a vegetative earthiness, but without tasting grassy. It has a nice warmth to it, as if it had been gently spiced with subtle notes of pepper.
Very often on Steepster, I read tasting notes from tea drinkers who describe the Pu-erh that they’re drinking to have a brine-y or fish-y taste to it, and I’m happy to say that I don’t taste that here either. The aforementioned earthy tones have a slight “saltiness” to them without tasting like brine.
Mostly what I taste here is sweetness. It is a sweetness that I find difficult to describe. It isn’t a caramel-y or honey-esque sweetness, it tastes like rock candy (aka rock sugar).
Overall, I find this tea to be quite mellow and enjoyable – a very pleasing Pu-erh. This is a Pu-erh I’d recommend to someone who has tried Pu-erh in the past and decided they didn’t like it because it tasted too earthy or fishy. This Pu-erh is deliciously different!
2010 Xing Hai Raw Beeng Cha from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Another classic puerh from Xing Hai, made from authentic leaves, grade 5 –7, harvested from the large, mature tea bushes of Meng Hai.
A good quality raw puerh, it will keep improving for 10 years or more. For best aging results, store in a well-aired location with a constant temperature. The Xing Hai Beeng Cha is a young puerh and shows the classic characteristics of mild flowery notes with a traditional bittersweet finish. It will develop more woody notes as it matures.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the more I am sampling different Pu-erh teas, the more I’m realizing that I really do like them. I still suffer a bit from a couple of bad experiences concerning Pu-erh, but, really, the number of good experiences I’ve had outweigh the number of bad at this point.
This is a really nice raw pu-erh, quite sweet with pleasing floral notes. I don’t think I’ve had a pu-erh where I really noticed such well-pronounced floral tones before. Usually, I taste earthiness, and yes, I taste that here too, but, I don’t think I’ve had a pu-erh where the focus is more on the notes of flower over the notes of earth.
The sweetness is very molasses-like … in fact, had I not prepared this cup myself, I would have thought that whomever did prepare it for me added a dollop of molasses to the cup.
Overall, the cup is very smooth – no bitterness, no astringency – and it has a very mellow character. A very enjoyable cup of tea, I find it to be an especially enjoyable tea to enjoy in the early evening while watching the sunset.
Daily Man Tea from BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong, Pu-erh and Herbal
Where to Buy: BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Description:
We’ve gotten enough feedback from guys to know you want your own tea, and you don’t want a frilly peacock feather on it. Point taken. Here you go.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Of the three different teas from BijaBody Health + Beauty I was sent to try, this was the one with which I hesitated longest. I could think of all kinds of silly excuses, but, if I were to be completely honest, it was because it was a “man” tea, and well, the last time I checked, I’m a woman.
But, really, that’s pretty silly too. It’s a tea! There are some herbals in there that are definitely intended for men, but, I have never claimed to drink tea for its health benefits, so why should I not drink a tea because of its purported health benefits for men?
This tea has a strong earthy quality to it, much stronger than I recall tasting with either the Daily Beauty Tea or the Nightly Beauty Tea from BijaBody. I definitely taste the Pu-erh here, but, it isn’t an overwhelming or off-putting flavor. I also taste the Oolong, and I can feel the texture from the Oolong too – its smooth and almost creamy.
This also has a slight medicinal quality to it, but not so much that it makes me want to stop drinking it. The medicinal flavor is balanced out with the warm spice notes in the background as well as the tea flavors to give this a very enjoyable taste. After a glance at the ingredients, I worried that the cayenne might be a bit too much for the cup, but, it is actually quite subtle, providing a little bit of heat, but, certainly not to the point where I’d categorize this as spicy or even medium-hot. It has a mild spice – it’s warm and energizing.
Overall, this is an enjoyable beverage, even for those of us who are not men. If I were to change anything about it, though, I should like for there to be more of a chocolate taste from the cacao nibs… I taste only hints of cocoa here. But for what it is, I found it quite agreeable.