Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Simple Loose Leaf

Tea Description:

Decadent coconut, the fruity mystique of papaya and the soft earthiness of pu erh come together for an exotic experience not unlike a walk on the black sand beaches of its namesake. Tropical fruit notes and hints of mineral evoke thoughts of Pacific breezes and rainforest hikes.

Ingredients: Pu’erh Tea, Apple Pieces, Dried Coconut, Natural Coconut Flavor, Marigold Flowers, Mango Pieces, Papaya Flavor

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Selection Club subscription program here.

Taster’s Review:

I’ve tasted a lot of tropical flavored teas.  A lot.  It seems to be one of the “favorite” fruit medley flavors when it comes to tea.  But, most of the fruit combinations are different, because there’s a lot of different tropical fruits from which to choose.

And when it comes to tropical flavored teas, I usually think immediately of a black tea base.  That’s because most of the tropical flavored teas that I’ve encountered have been black teas.  But because I have tasted so many tropical flavored teas, the tropical blends that are memorable, the ones that manage to stand out in my memory as something I’d like to have again, they are usually the teas with a different base (other than black tea).  The tropical flavored white teas or green teas, for example, are more memorable for me.

So even though I tend to be a little nervous when it comes to Pu-erh teas, I was a little excited at the prospect of tasting a tropical fruit flavored Pu-erh!

When I opened the pouch of this Tahiti Pu-erh, I was really happy to not be greeted by an overly earthy scent.  In fact, I didn’t really detect any earthiness with my initial casual (and admittedly, somewhat apprehensive) sniff.  When I took another – more intent – sniff, I could pick up hints of earthiness, but these notes seemed to meld with the notes of coconut, mango and papaya.  Nice!

The brewed tea has a slightly more earthy scent than the dry leaf, and that could be because I did give the blend a 15 second “rinse” before I brewed it.  I do this with all pu-erh, I find that the pu-erh is much more agreeable for me when I do this.  (And from what I understand, it’s something that you SHOULD do with pu-erh and Oolong teas.)

This is tasty.  There are some earthy and mineral notes to the pu-erh, but, I like that these notes have married nicely with the notes of tropical fruit.  I taste the papaya and mango and coconut, and these flavors are well-balanced with the flavor of the pu-erh, which tastes smooth and mellow.  It’s a little bit like a trip to Tahiti in a teacup.  (I’m only guessing, I’ve never been to Tahiti.)

The fruit flavors are not overpowering the tea, and there is a part of me that would have said that I would like for the fruit flavors to overpower the tea – before I tasted it, that is!  Before tasting a pu-erh, there’s still that timid tea drinker that is just a wee bit afraid of pu-erh.  Those early occasions where I first experienced pu-erh, before I knew how to brew a pu-erh for my palate and before my palate developed … I did NOT like pu-erh.  Now I do.  Now my palate finds most pu-erh agreeable, although I still don’t have a great appreciation for an overly earthy, fishy, or briny tasting pu-erh.  Fortunately, this pu-erh isn’t like that.

And now that I have tasted this pu-erh, I’m happy that a good balance has been achieved with this blend.  The fruit flavors are tasted but not overpowered, nor is the tea too fishy, briny or earthy.  It’s just … tasty!

I know I say this a lot, but, I’m really thrilled with the teas that I get each month from Simple Loose Leaf as part of their Selection Club subscription program.  I can’t recommend this program enough!  It’s a great way (and it’s economical!) to try new teas and expand your tea repertoire.

To save 25% when you sign up for this great program, use the code SISTERSELECTION25.  This will earn you the discount, and get you well on your way to sampling some amazing teas!  This discount is not applicable on the retail selection of teas, and is only good for the selection club subscription.