Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha

I tried this a while ago and when I did, I had added it to a Chai tea so I came back to this one and tried it with no additives.
This Pu-erh is in little individual disks and is the only Pu-erh I have tried.
I did a quick rinse on the little disk w/ my boiling water then steeped for 2 minutes, forty-five seconds.
The liquor that is created is very thick and dark,,,very molasses in appearance and scent.
The taste is rich, hot blackstrap molasses on a whole wheat roll. It has a sweet smell but not taste. It is not bitter but definitely a black coffee type flavor. Black coffee drinkers would love this one,,,it is rich, thick, and bold. As it cools, I catch the cocoa notes but an unsweetened very dark chocolate,,,the 86% cocoa no sugar dark chocolate.

I really like thick, dark teas. I really, reaaaallly like thick, dark teas. The first sencha I ever tasted was the Organic Miyazaki Sakimidori from o-cha.com, a positively stunning experience from the thick cloudiness of resultant brew to the amazing grassy flavors to the absolute euphoria following, and solely responsible for inspiring my love of tea.

I had held off on trying Pu Erh for quite a while, not quite understanding how I would brew it or why it came in little blocks, but having tried all other main varieties of tea from white to black, I decided it was finally time to introduce myself to post fermented teas.

The smell of the dry leaves was funny, not quite like anything I’d ever smelt before and definitely containing some of those fishy notes I’d heard of. I first broke off a little bit of one of the little bundles and infused it for 30 seconds. I probably should have rinsed the leaves first, but regardless I was immediately impressed by the first infusion – dark as coffee, thick mouthfeel and very surprising lack of astringency. I like this tea. The flavor is very earthy, almost like a counterpart to the grassiness of the Miyazaki sencha but one layer closer to the center of the earth. I was left with a powerful envigoration after one cup, noticeably heightened with the second, and more so than I experience from black tea. Perfect after a large meal.

Definitely happy about my first experience with post fermented tea, and I will definitely consider getting more.

this was my first pu-erh. I saw it at Whole Foods, and figured i would give it a try. i liked it. it is earthy. I like that it as a strong flavor. It is nice to have them as little discs. When i am at work (or at home) and i do not want to measure out a teaspoon of tea, it is nice to put this out and know you have the correct amount of tea.

As fall moves into winter, I usually go heavier on coffee than tea. However, the richness of this pu-erh is really drawing me in as an warm respite from the harsh Minnesota winter!

A really great tea. It is not an overpowering Pu-erh, instead it has a delicate earthy quality. It reminds me of the smell of the Pacific Northwest Rainforests—sort of a mix of wood, moss, and rain. The aroma is earthy with a slight fishy hint. The taste, however, is purely earthy (a definate plus in my book since I am not a huge fan of fishy tea). Perhaps the best part of the tea is that is absolutely lacks any bitterness that so often destroys Pu-erh. About the negative aspect is that the small cake separates into very fine pieces that went through my infuser.

Also, I like the fact that it is organic, which removes that nagging doubt in the back of my mind if my drink is laced my chemicals.

Now that I have tasted all the black teas in my cupboard, time to get over my fear of pu erh.

I thought I’d start with this, since I could just stick the little nest into the gaiwan. The nest smells kind of fishy, which is what I’m used to with shu.

I rinsed twice (read that you should do that with shu on the Teavivre web site). After the first rinse, this little fella fell completely apart.

Adopting my oolong habit, which is trying first in the gaiwan. Boiling water. Steeps starting at 10 seconds.

A very dark liquor, not quite as darkly opaque as espresso. More like espresso with a couple of drops of milk in it. Still smells a bit fishy, with earth and mushrooms underneath. It tastes like earth and mushrooms as well.

To be continued. I have to take No. 1 to help teach kung fu. Provisional rating of 78 as a placeholder.

This was a gift, so I decided to brew the “legendary ancient tree” mini tuocha! The little guy is massively compressed with a slight earth coffee tone and some fungal aroma. I warmed my gaiwan and popped it inside. The pebble opens with some sweet cherry, dark cocoa, wet moss, petrichor, and a background of vanilla. I washed the leaf twice and picked at it, so I could begin brewing. The body is surprisingly full with earth and fungal tones. A light sweetness lingers on the palate. The brew is intensely dark. A strong woody tone comes out along with a bit of fruit. The tea is decent, but it is very basic. The inky drink continues with this earthy body and dry astringency for the rest of the session. The qi is warming and hot towards the head and stomach, but it stops there. Also, the leaves have a bit of green/ish in them. This was an average session, but I think these would be good for traveling.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDyyxdEzGSK/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

A solid Pu-erh for the price. I’ve spent alot more money on Pu-erhs that weren’t any better than the quality I got here. It has a good chi feeling to it and it leaves me uplifted, happy, and rounded. A good Pu-erh to drink whilst chopping wood in the snow.

Brewed gong-fu with two generous rinses to try to eliminate some of the fishiness. This to me is not a great ripe pu’er. While it is organic, which is nice, it is made of very small leaf fragments and smells fishy, which to me is a sign of poor technique in fermentation. With a year or two in storage the fishiness will probably dissipate, but it’s not a high enough grade tea to be worth that. Many other options of ripe pu’er are available at modest price points, especially from yunnan sourcing and other chinese-shipped providers. Flavors are earthy, roasted barley, wet moss. Not a lot of complexity. Later steeping are smoother and rounder with less fish.

These mini tuo cha sell at my local food co-op for $70/lb which is pretty cheap. I bought 4 or 5 minis just to give them a try. They are not green but have oxidized black and they are hard as a rock. A whole one is too much for me because of the number of steepings, but for two people they work. Needed a cold rinse because of the dusty dirt, and a cold rinse can get rid of slight fishy flavor as long as the tea isn’t completely wrecked. Dark red and smoky cup.

I see mini tuo chas exactly like this everywhere, and I suspect a lot of them are from the same exporter, sold in bulk and labeled as needed. Mine are not whole leaves, but small broken leaves compressed together, probably leftovers from larger cake pressings, would be my guess. This is not premium pu-erh and not what I would want to serve to impress a new drinker. The few I have are sitting in the cupboard and I will remind myself to drink them when I am in a rush and don’t feel like taking the time to break leaves off one of my better teas. Recommended for people who know they like pu-erh, can take the dark stuff and are going camping maybe.