"Starter" pu'erh?

First, do you want to start with ripe or raw? I like both Yunnan Sourcing brand raw teas and White2Tea brand raw teas. I also like both brand of ripe tea but with a preference towards Yunnan Sourcing. If you are interested in factory teas, the best in ripe and raw is the Menghai Tea Factory or Dayi brand. I have a number of ripe teas I just listed under the stash sale thread where I have tried to price them as competitively as possible.

First, just get samples or cheaper 100g cakes/tuo. No need to buy an entire cake of something just yet.

Like you said, there is a huge variety, but here are a few types you might want to explore. I think their flavors would appeal to a beginner, and they are all very affordable:

- Young raw: for a beginner, I recommend something sweeter. I really like Autumn Bang Dong and Autumn Qing Mei Shan from Yunnan Sourcing. These will still have some bitterness and “greenness”, but they have great body and noticeable sweetness. I have some reviews of both if you want to check them out.

- Semi-aged raw: again, something a little sweeter is probably good for someone new to pu’erh. 2007 CNNP 8891 available through YS is really good and affordable. Raisin and dried fruit notes with some tobacco and leathery, earthy notes that have developed with age.

- Xiaguan products: I really like these. Frankly, they remind me most of my first pu’erh that I had in China. Really nice tobacco leaf and black walnut notes. Not exactly beginner-level stuff, but those big flavors made me fall in love with pu’erh at a time when all I knew about tea was Lipton tea bags. Plus, they are super affordable. For $5 for a 100g tuo, you won’t go wrong. And if you don’t like it, just store it away. You will probably enjoy coming back to it at some point.

- Ripe: I love YS Yang Luo Han. Some ripes can be too dry (think Irish stout), too earthy (think dirt), or even just fishy/composty. Finding the balance between earthy, sweet, and savory is difficult. The Yang Luo Han does this very well. YS’s mini ripe tuo and their Yi Dian Hong are also excellent and very affordable.

Good luck! You may fall in love right off the bat like I did. If not, don’t worry. All of this stuff was meant to be stored away. Try it from time to time as you keep exploring new teas, and you may find that your palate (and the tea!) has changed. Enjoy!

There are two distinct types of pu-erh: sheng pu-erh (the raw or green type) and shu pu-erh (the ripened or black type).

Usually a tea beginner appreciates ripe pu-erh tea more while the experts and collectors appreciate raw pu-erh tea better. However, from the process point of view, raw pu-erh tea and ripe pu-erh tea are completely two different types of tea.

My best recomendations….

Crimson lotus, What is puerh starter set, 22$ or so, and they give you a raw, aged and ripe in sample sizes with an explanation.

White2tea basics 40$ each for each Raw and ripe of 4 100 grams cakes, with free shipping. This includes 3 raws, 1 aged raw, and 4 ripes. So the total set is 80$ for 800 grams. Includes a puerh pick!

Yunnan sourcing monthly tea club, let Scott pick and you just pay and drink, this works surprisingly well. This month is especially good as it contains a young raw, a light aged raw and a well aged raw. For 30$.

Would you be interested in writing a review for us? I’ll send you our sample combo set for free -
https://www.teanami.com/products/4-tea-sampler-set

Please let me know, thanks! The “Goddess of Beauty” in the set is one of our best selling “starter pu erh” and also my personal favorite.

i would start with a young raw for sure. a ripe puerh will throw u off.