Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
Although this amazing tea is pu’er leaf buds, it is best described and prepared as a white tea since it is picked in the late winter/early spring of 2011 and only sundried. No other processing takes place.
The liquor is clear and the flavor is sweet and floral with hints of pine. Complex flavors and yet so simple to enjoy. Mild and pleasant. This tea is rare and beautiful, as fresh as spring!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of the more unusual looking teas that I’ve come across in my tea adventures. These buds remind me of the tops of the grassy weeds that I used to run through when I was a kid … you know the ones that would deposit burrs in socks and then keep poking you as it got further and further embedded into the fabric of the sock, becoming more and more uncomfortable? Well, the uncomfortable feeling never stopped me from running through those grassy fields when I was a kid, and this tea’s unusual appearance isn’t going to stop me from trying this tea!
It brews up to a very pale color … it almost looks like water that is in my cup, it is so pale. But for such a light color, there is a lot of flavor to this. I hadn’t read the description above until after I had taken my first couple of sips, and my initial reaction was that this tastes very much like a pu-erh. It has that pu-erh earthiness to it, although it is more like a “white tea” pu-erh earthiness (which is quite appropriate for this IS a white pu-erh) than the darker pu-erh teas that I’m used to.
It also has some characteristics that I’d expect from a white tea, although it is not as delicate as most white teas I’ve tasted. But this does have that hay-like quality to it that I often taste in a high quality Bai Mu Dan.
The sip starts sweet, with an almost immediate transition to the earthiness of the cup, and hints of hay, as well as woody tones and floral notes weave their way throughout the sip. Towards the end of the sip, I notice a mineral-y kind of taste toward the end of the sip that settles on the palate. The finish is slightly earthy with hints of fresh pine.
It’s quite a nice cup, and a different way to experience pu-erh.
Yanxin’s Reserve ’04 Shu Nuggets from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Tea Description:
These nuggets are formed from only the smallest most delicate buds, and slow-fermented to form nuggets.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! Just … Wow!
I always seem to be so surprised by pu-erh… surprised that I actually like it. The first couple of times that I did try it were less than successful tastings, and as a result, I have it programmed in my head that I do not like pu-erh. But, you’d think that by now, after so many successful tastings since those first few, that I’d have managed to reprogram myself and realize that I DO like pu-erh.
And I REALLY like this pu-erh. Immediately upon opening the pouch I KNEW this was different. The tea has been formed into little nuggets, looking a bit like dried clots of dark earth. And I expected it to smell like dark earth, but it didn’t. The aroma is fairly faint. I detect hints of wood, but not much else.
The flavor is quite remarkable. The tasting notes on Verdant Tea’s website seem to describe what I’m experiencing very well. Notes of sweet cinnamon and a vanilla tone that is not so much a creamy vanilla, but more of the sugary sweetness you’d experience from an angel food cake. Enhancing these angel-food-esque flavors even more is a sort of cake-y like taste … wheat and browned sugar and tones of malt.
But it’s what I don’t taste that makes this shu even more remarkable … I don’t taste EARTH! Usually with a shu pu-erh, even a very good one that is sweet and delicious, there are earth tones that taste unmistakeably … well, like earth. But, I don’t taste those same earthy tones here. I don’t taste that brine-y fish taste. I taste a sweet, clean flavor with notes of wood and spice. And I like it a LOT!
If you have wanted to get in to pu-erh but have not found one that you can enjoy without tasting those strong, earthy flavors, try this one! This one WILL surprise you!
Ripened Aged Pu-erh Mini Tuocha from Teavivre
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
Aged Pu-erh tea is created by secondary-oxidation and post-fermentation tea. This type of Pu-erh tea is referred to as ripened, or cooked, Pu-erh, which has a rich, mellow and earthy flavor. Unlike many other teas which should be consumed shortly after production, such as green and white teas, Pu-erh tea can either be brewed immediately or it can be stored and aged for many years, much like a fine wine. Most Pu-erh teas are classified by the year they were produced and the region they were grown in, much like many wine vintages. In fact, when it comes to Pu-erh tea, the longer it is stored and aged properly, the more complex the flavor and the more valuable the tea gets. Many aged Pu-erh teas are served in Chinese restaurants after heavy meals, as Pu-erh tea is known for it’s ability to break down fat, also making it a great weight loss tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little afraid to try this Pu-erh, as I worried it might end up tasting a little too earthy for my palate. It was the name of the tea that frightened me … “ripened aged” usually says to me “very earthy.”
But after unwrapping the individually wrapped tuocha and inhaling deeply, I noticed only a hint of earthiness to the aroma. In fact, the aroma of the dry leaf is very indistinct, with mere insinuations of an earthiness.
The flavor is more earthy than the aroma of the dry leaf would suggest, but, I am not finding it to be TOO earthy. Perhaps it is because beneath that earthy overtone, I taste this underlying note of delicious caramel-y sweetness. And even the earthiness here I find to be very interesting, as it seems to interchange with a deep, woodsy kind of flavor.
Overall, this has a very rustic kind of flavor to it … very masculine. It is very smooth and mellow, with no bitterness whatsoever and no astringency either. After my first couple of sips, I added just a little bit of turbinado sugar to see how that would affect the flavor and it ended up giving the caramel-like sweetness I mentioned earlier a very molasses-y kind of taste … very nice indeed! I like how that molasses flavor marries with the masculine flavors of wood and earth. This would also probably taste wonderful as a latte! Might have to try that sometime soon!
Daily Beauty Tea from BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong, Pu-erh & Herbal
Where to Buy: BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Description:
Daily Beauty Tea’s blend of fair-trade, organic Oolong and Pu-erh Tea with beautifying herbs and spices -including cacao nibs, burdock, a dash of cayenne, and so much more- supports a fiery metabolism, internal ph balance, natural detox and digestion, and your skin’s exquisite function*.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve said many times before, I’m quite hesitant when it comes to herbal blends, but since I’ve recently tried their Nightly Beauty tea and enjoying it, I felt much more at ease while preparing this tea.
BijaBody seems to know what they’re doing. They select the ingredients based not only on their positive benefits, but, also for their contributions to the flavor.
The two blends that I’ve tried thus far – Nightly Beauty and now Daily Beauty – have many similar ingredients. Most notable are the Pu-erh, cacao nibs and sarsaparilla. Some of the other ingredients are the same as well, but, these are the most prominent flavor-wise. But even though they have many similar ingreidents, this tastes quite a bit different from the Nightly Beauty.
I can taste the Oolong tea’s contribution to the cup. It tastes lighter, smoother and a little on the creamy side. I can also taste the cayenne pepper in this, it isn’t a spicy-hot flavor, but, it is certainly warming. I can feel its heat on my palate, but, it doesn’t get to a level where I feel like I need something to cool it down. It’s quite enjoyable, really.
I do taste the Pu-erh, but of the two tea types, the Oolong stands out. The Pu-erh gives a light earthiness to the cup that mingles quite nicely with the other ingredients. I also taste the sarsaparilla and the cacao nib … although neither are as prominent as they are with the Nightly Beauty blend.
While the Nightly Beauty blend tastes more herbaceous, I find that this blend tastes more like tea, albeit a tea blend that I don’t think I’ve ever tried before. But there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I like how different this tastes.
A very enjoyable tea, and if it has health and beauty benefits, that’s a bonus!
Nightly Beauty Tea from BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal & Pu-erh
Where to Buy: BijaBody Health + Beauty
Tea Description:
Nightly Beauty Tea’s blend of aged pu-erh with calming, beautifying herbs and spices-such as gotu kola, chamomile, red raspberry leaf, lemongrass and ginger- strengthens digestion, healthy skin function, mental/physical calm and enhances your dazzling elegance.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
OK… so this was a tea that made me a little nervous. Lots of herbs AND Pu-erh? Yeah, not exactly high up there on the oh-my-goodness-I-really-must-try-it-now list. But now that I’m tasting it, I’m enjoying it. In fact, I like this a lot, and I could see myself drinking this on a regular basis.
After examining the contents of this sample package, I noticed that there seemed to be more herbs than tea in this blend, so, I decided to steep it at 195°F for 8 minutes to get the most out of those herbs. And I’m quite satisfied with the result.
There is a LOT going on with this blend. The first flavor I notice is the sarsaparilla, and it gives the cup a very root beer kind of taste. I then notice the ginger – it adds a gentle, soothing warmth without tasting too spicy. The cacao adds a hint of chocolate-y flavor to the background. Also in the background, I notice a citrus-y note.
Overall, the cup is very herb-y tasting without tasting too medicinal. The Pu-erh does manage to make its presence known. It adds an earthiness to the cup that balances everything out. I find this to be a very satisfying cup – quite soothing and calming – I feel the stress drain from my body!
This is my kind of beauty regimen!