Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Verdant Tea
Product Description:
Year: 2008
Workshop: Diyi Workshop
Region: Xishuangbanna
Flavor: True to the smell, this tea really does taste like corn, but with an impressive complexity. The spearmint comes through as a tingling sensation, more of a a minty texture than anything else. Despite the sweet corn flavor, the tea is weightless on the palate and almost refreshing like an iced drink.
Taster’s Review:
This month’s Steepster Select Package theme is “Migration.” My first thought when I saw the card insert in the package was “Migration? What an odd theme.” But I don’t mean odd in a bad way… I happen to think odd is a compliment. I mean, why settle for ordinary when you can have something a little odd?
The card insert explains the theme like this:
Autumn brings bodies in motion – animals and people alike – savoring the final wisps of warmth. Stroll through the park and you’ll find empty nests, scattered branches and crisp, fallen leaves, all proof of the impending frost.
Some take flight, migrating to warmer climates, but those more observant recognize Autumn is merely the beginning of many tea-soaked months.
Rather than fly away, we choose to nose-dive in wholeheartedly. We bring you 3 teas inspired by everything the migrating birds left behind.
I really like this explanation and how it fits with the three teas chosen for this month. This particular tea is the “empty nest”!
And I really am liking this tea!
If you are a frequent reader here, you may know that I am not as fond of pu-erh as I am other types of tea. But I am gaining an appreciation for it with each new tasting. This Shu (meaning “cooked” pu-erh) is full of surprises!
My first surprise was the aroma of the dry nest. It is earthy, yes, but, the earthy notes are not as strong as I usually find with a Shu. I can also smell notes of corn and even a hint of mint nestled in the mini tuo cha. The brewed liquor has a stronger corn scent. Earthy notes are still present, but, they are significantly softer than the dry leaf.
The second surprise is in my gaiwan. Usually, when I steep these little nests, the tea remains in a little mass at the bottom of the gaiwan… but this pu-erh seems to be very loosely packed into the nest, as it fell apart. And what it revealed to me was not only the deep brown and almost-black colored leaves, but also green leaves in there.
The flavor … is like WOW! Corn! I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a tea that has such a profound corn flavor as this. It tastes like roasted corn to me … like when you go out to the fair … the roasted corn on the cob? Yeah, that is what I’m tasting. I LOVE roasted corn on the cob, and I have tried my hand at roasting my own corn on the cob but with very little success. I can never seem to capture that same flavor of the fair. But… interestingly enough, this tea has!
The sweetness is a corn-like sweetness, reminding me a bit of sweet corn cakes. The mouthfeel is remarkably light and has a crispness to it. It feels cleaner on the palate than any other pu-erh I’ve ever tasted.
This is a remarkable pu-erh. I recommend this to all tea enthusiasts out there, especially to those who want to gain a stronger appreciation for pu-erh, and have had some unfortunate experiences with it in the past. This pu-erh is unlike any other I’ve ever tried, and certainly one that you should try!
Organic Topaz Pu-er from The Tao of Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: The Tao of Tea
Product Description:
Native Name: Shu Bing
Origin: Central Yunnan Province, China
Plucking Season: Fall
Introduction: A cooked style pu-er, made at one of the few certified organic tea gradens in central Yunnan. Can endure many steepings, and does not become astringent. We don’t expect it to gain any flavor change over time.
Taster’s Review:
As I’ve mentioned before (several times), Pu-erh is a little intimidating to me. My first few experiences with Pu-erh were not pleasant ones, and since that time, I’ve been very hesitant to try it again. It wasn’t until about a year and a half ago that I decided to try to expand my horizons and try to develop a taste for Pu-erh. It is, after all, an acquired taste (for some of us at least! I do understand that there are some people that love this stuff right off the bat! For the rest of us though, it takes a little time!)
The dry leaf does not possess much of an aroma, and this was encouraging me, because it is often that strong earthy essence that I find off-putting when it comes to Pu-erh. However, after steeping, I noticed the liquor developed an earthy scent. Fortunately, though, it was not nearly as strong as some Pu-erh teas that I’ve tried, so I remained optimistic. Given the fact that I’ve been very pleased with other teas I’ve tried from The Tao of Tea, I had good reason to remain optimistic!
This is remarkably smooth. It is a bold, full-flavored cup with a pleasant tone of sweetness. In the past, I have often compared the sweetness of cooked Pu-erh to caramel, and while this does possess some of those “caramel” tones to it, I would say that this is not quite as caramel-y as some of the teas I’ve tasted. It is more like molasses, but without that molasses-y bitterness.
The flavor is earthy, but a subdued earthiness with a woody undertone to it. This is a very pleasant Pu-erh. Not one I would consider a favorite but, one that I am happy I had the opportunity to try and one that I wouldn’t turn down if I were offered it again. The Tao of Tea does it again!
Camel’s Breath Pu-Erh Toucha from Chicago Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Chicago Tea Garden
Product Description:
Origin: China, Yunnan Province
Harvest: Spring 2005, cave-aged until 2010
Taste: Very strong and earthy, capturing the essence of shu pu-erh.
Behind the Leaf: Though I have never had the pleasure of actually smelling a camel’s breath, these mini-tuocha smell … like what I assume a camel’s breath would smell like. Don’t let the name (or that description) put you off though. These pu-erh tuocha steep up a sturdy, dark, and intense liquor, producing a somewhat briny drink. The longer you steep it, the darker it will get– this is a tuocha you can leave in your pot and add water to throughout the day. These pu-erh tuochas are cooked or “ripened” pu-erh (shu).
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this Pu-Erh cake for a while now. It was sent to me by a tea friend on Steepster, but to be perfectly honest, I was afraid to try it. It’s the name. I mean… drinking “camel’s breath tea” didn’t exactly appeal to me.
But really, if this is how camel’s breath tastes… it’s not all that bad. Quite tasty, actually, even if it is kind of unsettling for me to admit that I like the flavor of something called “Camel’s Breath.”
The aroma… well, it’s special. I can see why it’s called Camel’s Breath. It is strong, earthy and brine-y. A rather intense fragrance, to say the least. However, when steeped for short steeps in my gaiwan, the flavor isn’t nearly as intense.
It is an earthy flavor. It is brine-y. Even slightly fish-like. But, beyond those flavors, there is a sweetness that is just as strong, if not stronger, than the earthy, brine-y taste. And with subsequent infusions, I find that the sweetness develops. The second group of infusions (brewed in my gaiwan, I do a quick rinse, then after the rinse is discarded, I combine the next two infusions in one teacup, and then the next two are combined in the next group of infusions, and so on…) produced a slightly stronger flavor that was even more sweet than the first.
Using this short-steep method, I find that the flavor is relatively mellow in comparison to the aroma. It is a remarkably smooth brew without any hint of bitterness and no astringency. A very pleasant cup despite it’s rather intimidating name.
Moral of this review: Don’t judge a tea by its name, and don’t allow that name to influence your tasting decisions.