865 Tasting Notes
Just when I think I’ve hit rock bottom, I fall even further… Only God and matcha can get me out. If I’m gonna fall, I’m gonna fall deeper in love w/ Him and right into my matcha bowl. A half bowl warmed my body and my spirit. Keep the flavored matchas coming 52teas, my stomach and my soul are in desperate need of them.
Preparation
Got this as a gift from the wonderful and smart Carolyn! I love chais. And I love chocolate. And I love things w/ chili/red pepper. I have my chais 2 ways, w/ and w/o milk. I don’t sweeten my chai’s, but I would like to try ROT’s and Lupica’s tea honeys someday.
As w/ all chais, I’m trying it hot and clean 1st. 1 heaping teaspoon tea to 6oz purified water heated to just below boiling because I want to preserve the health benefits.
Compared to my Pu Erh yesterday this is light lol! The liquor is a gorgeous dark reddish brown color.
I have to be honest. The aroma of this tea makes me giggle w/ happiness. The chocolate hits my nose as richness, then the spices tickle my nose w/ their strength, and lastly the black tea manages to fight it’s way thru as if to say “Don’t worry, I’m still here!”.
I’m kinda glad that I’m enjoying my 1st cuppa this alone. I’m definitely not acting like the mature and sophisticated 24 yr old that I am. This tea is WONDERFUL! I’ve had very good chais before, but the chocolate and chili put this on a whole new platform. I’ve seen a lot of disappointing scores on this one, so if you want to get rid of yours in a swap- PLEASE send me a message!
Preparation
I normally don’t expect much for additional infusions of blacks, but since I was absolutely thrilled w/ the 1st one I decided to try again. 6min. Not really darker in liquor, but more dull and less red. I can still smell the chocolate which surprises me. I can taste the chocolate as well, although this cuppa is much sweeter than the 1st. Still very good though.
Decided to make a dirty chai latte. 2oz cold brewed coffee concentrate and 4oz water. Steeped 7min then added 1tsp each spiced rum, caramel, and white chocolate creamers. Very sweet as expected, very shocked at the weakness of both the coffee and the chai.
4th infusion, 8min. Surprised at how dark this is, although it’s very dull- not bright like the 1st infusion. W/ almost caramely tones. The flavor matches the liquor. Smooth, creamy mouth feel, sweet and spicy taste.
…how is the chocolate pulling trough? Sweet-milky, or with bitter-pure roughness? Never had a Choc.-Chai…:-(
Keemun, you are really missing out! The 1st infusion was definitely a pure cocoa flavor, but it wasn’t rough at all. After that it became more sweet, but still cocoa-ish (think drinking chocolate vs hot chocolate made w/ water). Extremely good in all infusions.
Good review, thanks, now this is definitely on my list to get from 52teas… :)
And if by some sad misfortune you don’t like it I will be the 1st to request a swap hehe:)
…you wish, mate.
Yeah I do, and I did. I totally called it a full 37min before your comment lol =D
…you are a wicked man,Sir! A wicked man…indeed!
Ummm… ok… how should I take that considering I’m very much a woman?
…nice.Means I will lock myself into my room and will not appear on ‘steepster’ for at least a month…or I will change my name to another one…damn.
Sorry ’bout that. You did not mention that on your profile,did you?
…tea anyone?…
Haha! No I didn’t.
…I guess it was your Winston Churchill quote that drove me in the wrong direction…and speaking of him…I wonder what great teas he had during his long life time (…besides all that whisky).
Ok… not sure where you got me being male from that quote. Notice I’m into romantic comedies too? lol:)
I think my writing style also implies a female gender. I don’t think most men giggle over even tea lol.
From day one I thought you were a female.
Keemun, I would assume you’re a guy. Am I two for two?
…true…Sister Act for example would be more than suspicious for a dude…(although there is not much romance going on…I guess, never saw it)
Haha thanks Ricky. Actually Sister Act is kinda manly cuz it’s about a lady that goes into witness protection. Sister Act 2 isn’t so much. But I don’t consider it a chick flick. It’s a gender nuteral movie. And of course P.S. I Love You is about as girly as you can get.:)
2nd unflavored cooked Pu Erh properly prepared. I’m amazed at the lack of scent the raw leaves have, it’s even lighter than Pu Erh Dante… which makes me hope I’ll like this even more.
Parameters and Preparation:
1g per 1oz water (I made a 4oz cuppa), rinsing the leaves in just below boiling water for 15sec, then doing a 20sec 1st steep.
I’m shocked at how dark the rinsing liquid gets… I almost cry as I dump it. But if adding this step is necessary for authentic preparation and a better cuppa, then that’s what I’ll do.
The 1st infusion is reeeaaalllyyy dark. I’ve used the term “coffeeish” to discribe the liquor of tea before, but I don’t even think that would do it justice. I have to go w/ cola-ish this time.
The aroma is light. While it was faint, there was a fecal note to Pu Erh Dante’s aroma that isn’t there w/ this one.
Taste matches the aroma. Very strong, complex, a little earthy, and the lack of a fecal note almost makes it a tad sweet.
Preparation
2nd infusion 20sec. Still cola-ish in liquor. Remember when I said there was a hint of sweetness? It definitely popped out in this infusion. I’m not normally a fan of black tea-ish teas (even though pu erh isn’t a black tea), but I love this infusion!
3rd infusion, 20sec. Another reason to like Pu Erh- like Japanese greens, the infusion time is short so I can make another cuppa during commercials and not miss any of Biggest Loser:) While the liquor is no darker, it has a slight reddish tint to it now making it look more like cold brewed coffee concentrate. Actually, it’s so dark, it makes it look like it’s that consistancy. Still sweet, no lighter or weaker.
Another commercial, another cup! Kinda hard to tell if this liquor is indeed darker, or just more red, but I’m thinking just more red. Flavor is still consistant.
5th infusion, 20sec. I’m ending up drinking quite a bit of tea since other than my morning bowla matcha, this is all I’ve had today. I ended up taking almost a 4 hr nap so that cut out a lot of tea drinking time. This infusion is nearly identical in liquor and flavor to number 4.
6th infusion, 20sec. Liquor is ever so slightly lighter, but the flavor is still strong.
How long can I keep in yixing pot? Don’t think I want to drink 8 steeps at once. I weighed a tsp, it seemed to equal 2 grams.
I don’t know, I don’t have a yixing.
I am officially, certifiably crazy. I tried this about a year ago, and it’s been one of the VERY few (only?) teas I couldn’t even get past the 1st sip. But I’ve decided to get back into pu erhs again, and I’ve already had major success w/ Numi’s bagged version of their chocolate pu erh. I decided to use some of the frequent cup points I’ve banked to buy this and their pu erh poe so if I don’t like it, I only paid $0.75 to top off shipping. Now since I bought both and already hated this one once, you’d think I’d try the other one 1st. But nope. I want to conquer my fears.
It’s the middle of winter, so the tins were VERY cold. I smelled it right away and was shocked. Last time, the aroma of the raw leaves were that of a septic tank leak and almost made me vomit. But this time, they are much more faint. While there is the deep, complex aroma typical of black teas w/ a hint of earthiness and maybe even a touch of fecality, it’s nothing like I remember.
The preparation is also vastly different this time. Last time I steeped 1tsp (1.88g) in 6oz boiling water for 5 min. This time I went to Carolyn for advice. She suggested using 1g per 1oz water (I made a 4oz cuppa), rinsing the leaves in boiling water for 15sec, then doing a 20sec 1st steep. The only deviation I made from this was that I just just below boiling water for both the rising and the steeping because I wanted to preserve the health benefits.
I’m shocked at how dark the rinsing liquid gets… I almost cry as I dump it. But if adding this step is necessary for authentic preparation and a better cuppa, then that’s what I’ll do.
The 1st infusion is also very dark. Coffeeish. The aroma is like a lot of black teas: deep, complex, and earthy. I take a sip praying my gag reflex won’t kick in. And I’m pleasantly surprised. While it is deep, complex, and earthy just like the aroma… it does not taste like my worst enemy shoved me face 1st into a cow pie!
I am not a black tea person per se, but I am fairly certain that a person who is and prepares this tea using Carolyn’s recommendations will be quite satisfied.
Preparation
just a comment that pu-erh is not black tea, its as black as it is oolong. its a fermented tea and a category of its own
Yep, I actually just learned that. Sorry if my post made it seem like I thought it was- I was just comparing it to a black tea.
2nd infusion, 20 sec like last time @ the suggestion of Carolyn. Sometimes it’s hard to compare liquors from one infusion to the next, and this is one of those times. I do know it’s still very dark. The nose has a slightly more fecal point to it, but luckily the taste does not. Maybe even less than the 1st.
3rd infusion, 20 sec again. The only difference is the slight fecal point to the nose is all but gone.
I have a Pu Erh cake I got from Ocean of Tea that’s equally as “complex” on every brew.
4th infusion, still 20 sec. More reddish liquor this time and sweeter taste. My favorite infusion so far.
5th infusion, 20 sec. Nearly identical liquor and flavor as infusion number 4.
That pu-erh lasts for soooo many infusions doesn’t it? I am really loving pu-erhs and that rich color. I am always surprised when I infuse again and that color is instantly dark like that. (On a side note, my hair stylist always knows me because I told her I wanted to go dark and she colored my hair a deep brown with red tones in it, I swear it looks like my cup of pu-erh! And she doesn’t even know about the tea!)
6th infusion, 20 sec. Ditto on earlier infusions.
7th infusion, 20 sec. The fecal nose is back, but very light. It isn’t evident in the taste though- it’s still very sweet.
8th infusion, wait for it… 20 sec. No change.
So glad that you were able to try it again! 8 infusions is a lot!
Not compared to a lot of teas I drink, but w/ others I always increase the steeping time. This one, while having a short steeping time, also uses a lot of leaf.
Glad you liked it! I don’t know that I would have been brave enough to try it again, so good for you!
It is fascinating how different each puerh steeping is. It is a very complex tea.
@Carolyn, actually I’m finding them very a like. What surpises me is that even though I haven’t increased the steeping time, it hasn’t gotten weaker.
9th infusion, 20 sec. As much as I love it’s durability, I’m getting really sick of this- dumping the leaves and calling it a nite.
You mustn’t give up!
I’m sick of it so I don’t want to waste tea or my time drinking tea I don’t enjoy anymore. And there’s so much leaf (4g) that I’m afraid it’d rot being wet in my ingenuiTEA all nite.
Nice post and way to go enjoying the puerh.
Thank you for the detailed steeping notes! I didn’t want to follow the “212 degrees, 5min” posted on the tin, so I came to Steepster hoping for a more thoughtful approach – yours (via Carolyn, I suppose) is perfect!
NOOO… that steeping suggestion is a bad one! What’s wrong w/ Adagio?
Adagio has a generic “Black Tea” label with those instructions :( Apparently they consider Pu-erh black.
Unfortunately a lot of companies do. Their steeping time on their whites and Japanese greens are way off too. I even like most of their oolongs at 3 min over their suggested 5.
After several recommendations I only steeped this for 3min. Wow… still ncredibly dark. The liquor is a medium dark orange brown. Not delicate at all… and that makes me sad.
Preparation
Pai Mu Tan (white Peony) is my current favourite. It is quite dark for a white. Lovely though
2nd infusion, 4 min. Liquor is a tad lighter and more dull. Flavor is a bit more sweet.
I give it about 4-5 first infusion, 6 on the second, 8 on the 3rd and 4th
It’s quite dark even at 3 min so I don’t think I’d go more than that on the 1st or increase each one by more than a min. Thanks for the suggestion though.
3rd infusion, 5 min. Lighter liquor. More sweet. I could easily confuse this for an oolong.
“medium dark orange brown”? Wow… Mine always comes out more like light or medium yellow color and tastes very delicate. 3min @ 180F. Maybe I use less leaf though, I don’t weigh it, can’t tell for sure.
@Oolonga, Yeah really can’t tell ya then. I wanna try this around 160 once.
You’re probably using really hard water. Try making it with filtered or bottled water and see if there’s a difference. I noticed a HUGE difference in color when I started making tea with softer water.
Why do you guys brew tea for so long? White tea should be brewed for about 10 seconds, no more. I am astonished you brew such a delicate tea for several minutes then say “I’m surprised it’s heavy”!
Actually, I’ve seen very conflicting information about how long to brew white teas for. Some people say less than a minute, others say 15 minutes or more on the first infusion. There’s nothing concrete that I’ve read to persuade me one way or another. I’ve just had to experiment and decide what I like for myself.
Took a heaping teaspoon w/ me to have @ Bible study today and found a surprise at the refreshment table… Caramel apple creamer! I’ve never seen that before so I added about a TB to my tea. Sooo good!
No TeaEqualsBliss, don’t like this… I want her to try matcha! lol:)
2nd infusion, 8oz of water so I cut the steeping time down to 2min. Paired well w/ lunch- tortilla crusted fish lean cuisine, salad, and apple cider vinegar and onion green beans.