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!
Peacock Village 2004 Shu from Verdant Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
The Peacock Village is unique in its perfectly light and clean body. It does not weigh down the palate with earthiness. Rather, it sparkles in its crisp sweetness. The very large leaves used are similar to the old tea tree leaf material in the Xingyang 1998. The first steepings yield a crystalline orange tea with tea oils swirling on top. The sweetness is like rock sugar and white grapes. After the preliminary steepings, the tea starts to unfold in darker buckwheat flavor and honey. Unexpectedly, there is something in the texture and aftertaste of dried oregano. As the tea steeps out, the grape-like fruit taste becomes dark elderberry, and the aftertaste is tinged with the warm spice of Thai ginger and peppercorns.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea made me a little nervous at the start. While the dry leaf aroma doesn’t possess a strong earthy scent, the liquor does smell rather earthy. And it is that earthiness that often puts me off when it comes to Pu-erh. But Verdant has not let me down yet, so I relied on my past experiences and took a sip.
Yes! Fortunately, the earthiness is not as strong in the taste. The first sip starts out with a fairly moderate earthy tone which quickly dissipates into a clean, sweet flavor. With each subsequent sip, I notice less of the earthy note, and more of that sweetness. It’s really quite lovely.
I brewed this Gongfu style as directed on the Verdant Tea website, except that I steeped the first infusion 30 seconds and added 15 seconds with each subsequent infusion. What I am drinking now is the results of the first two infusions (following two quick rinses). The taste is remarkably light for a Pu-erh, which tends to be somewhat heavy. Once the earthy notes subside, the flavor is sweet and crisp … almost like a honey that has been thinned with sparkling white grape juice.
The third and fourth infusions render a tea that has almost no earthy note to speak of. There is just a hint of earthiness somewhere in there, but, it’s back in background, and so easy to miss with the other lovely flavors in the cup. It has a warmth to it as if it had been slightly spiced. The spiced tones develop later in the sip, toward the finish, and the aftertaste imparts a tingly taste on the tongue as if I had just eaten something with fresh peppercorn. Not hot or spicy, mind you, but, just a hint of pepper. I taste lovely fruit notes throughout: the grape-y notes that I mentioned earlier are still there, and I taste something else too … pear perhaps? A very interesting tea, this Shu from Peacock Village, and I am eager to try the next two infusions.
My fifth and sixth infusions are even sweeter, reminding me a bit of the rock sugar candy that I used to love as a child (and if the flavor of this tea is any indicator, I still quite like that rock sugar candy!) The earthiness is gone. There is a dry sensation toward the finish and into the aftertaste … but it isn’t astringency. It almost feels powdery, like dry cocoa but it doesn’t taste chocolate-y, instead it tastes like warm spice. It is a curious sort of sensation, but not at all unpleasant. I’m quite enjoying the mysteries that I experience as I sip this tea.
For those who have thought that Pu-erh is not to your liking, I think you should give this Shu a try. It is quite remarkable, and unlike any Pu-erh I’ve yet to taste.
Rose Tuocha from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Tao of Tea
Product Description:
The Tuocha refers to a family of bowl shaped teas, commonly available as Green tea Tuocha, Black tea Tuocha and Puer (aged) Tuocha. More recently, Tuochas have also become commonly available by compressing the tea leaves and flowers together, or by heat infusing them together. In making the Rose Tuocha, more mature leaves of the tea plant are selected in summer, sun-dried, steamed, oxidized to turn dark, then compressed along with rose petals into small bowls. Wrapped with paper, the Rose Tuocha are an ideal size (3 grams) for individual serving.
Flavor Profile: Sweet, smooth, very mild rose flavor with little astringency.
Taster’s Review:
This is certainly different … not at all what I expect when I taste a Pu-erh. Pu-erh tends to be quite a strong, assertive flavor, but with this Pu-erh, you need to throw everything you know about Pu-erh out the window, because it’s so unusual … but in the very best way possible.
When I steep Pu-erh Tuocha like this, I steep them in my gaiwan, using short steeps and multiple infusions. My first cup was the combination of the first two infusions (following a quick 10 second rinse). This cup is really quite light in flavor. A little woodsy with a mellow rose note that is pleasantly sweet. No sharpness, no strong earthy flavors. Smooth and only the faintest hint of astringency at the tail.
My second cup (the combination of the third and fourth infusions), brewed up darker and much bolder than the first cup. The color here is much more like what I’d expect from a Pu-erh, whereas the first cup was more like a black tea. The flavor is more assertive compared to the first, but, still, it is not that typical earthy flavor of Pu-erh. There are some earthy hints that seem to have paired up with the woodsy flavor that I mentioned with the first cup – creating more of a “damp wood” flavor than an earthy note. The floral notes are stronger here too. What this cup actually tastes like to me? Coffee … but without the bitterness and astringency. This tastes rather like a smooth cup of rich coffee.
My third and final cup (the combination of the fifth and sixth infusions) was slightly (only very slightly) lighter in color than the second cup, but the flavor has become much smoother than either the first or the second cup. The floral tone has emerged nicely, and I am still getting that coffee-like flavor that I had mentioned. Of the three cups, this one is definitely my favorite as it has become so unbelievably smooth.
This is an excellent Pu-erh. It would make a good starter Pu-erh for those who are new to the tea. And for those of you who really love rose teas, you should give this one a try … while the rose flavor here is a bit more mellow than a typical rose Congou, I like that this Rose Tuocha shows me a whole new set of flavors to the rose that I would have never experienced from other teas.