Berry Good (Organic)

The dry tea smells like tart raspberry jam. I am intrigued and interested to try this one. The dry mix appears to be one of those tea blends where there is hardly any tea and is mostly the blend.

The brewed tea smells more like strawberry jam. Not really sweet, but just with the natural sweetness you get with fruit. The tea also tastes like unsweetened strawberry jam to me. Kind of tart. I would describe this tea as tart and berry-y. If I didn’t know any better, I would think this was actually a herbal.

So far I am actually somewhat enjoying this one. Surprising, I know.

This is the second last of my samples from Sil. I’m guessing I saved it until now because it’s the one I’m most nervous about. It’ll be the first pu’erh I’ve tried, and I’ve heard things about fish…I’ve read some of the tasting notes on here, though, and I’m reassured, so I think I’m ready…

I followed the instructions on the DT website, and gave this 4 minutes in water just cooler than boiling. I’m encouraged by the scent of this brewed — I can only detect creamy strawberries, and that’s more than okay with me. First sip, and I’m still happy. This does taste remarkably like strawberry yoghurt, and there’s not the slightest hint of anything fishy. As it cools, I can detect a slight earthiness in the aftertaste, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary.

I’ve got another couple of cups worth of this left, which I’m now really looking forward to! Pu’erh probably still isn’t a tea variety I’d actively seek out — I’m still not confident enough for that — but I’m glad it wasn’t as scary as I was expecting!

I am not generally a huge pu-erh fan, but this has such a nice, light, pu-erh base that I am actually a big fan. The dominant flavour, really makes this more of a berry tea. I don’t find this a fussy brew, it takes boiling water and a short steep or a long steep just fine. I like the decadence of things like chocolate pu-erhs, but this one tops them in terms of fresh, refreshing flavour.

This was pretty decent. I don’t mind the pu’erh in this tea, it isn’t fishy. The berry taste is there. Maybe a little too much hibiscus.
Rate 85

A Spot of Tea
(by mithen http://archiveofourown.org/works/731462)

The shopkeeper gave Thorin Oakenshield a dubious look as he walked through the door, and Thorin could hardly blame her: an armor-clad, rather shaggy dwarf was woefully out of place in this room full of floral upholstery and white lace. But Bilbo had been so delighted at the sight of a Laketown tea room that he had insisted Thorin come along, and considering the hobbit had saved his life two or three times now Thorin felt the least he could do was drink some stewed leaf juice with him.

Gingerly, he took a seat on a delicate white-painted chair covered with a rose-patterned cushion, and watched Bilbo enthuse over the floral centerpiece, the doilies, the fluted stained-glass lamps. A waitress in a starched white apron came over, and she and Bilbo had an animated discussion as to which tea was superior as Thorin tried his level best not to stand out too much.

From the looks he was getting from other customers, he was failing miserably at that.

It was…interesting to see the burglar in something like his natural habitat, he thought, watching Bilbo chatter about aroma and nose with the smiling waitress. He looked comfortable and happy, something Thorin had rarely seen him look over their travels.

It suited him.

“And you, Master Dwarf?” The waitress’s voice broke into his thoughts, and Thorin snapped out of his reverie. ”What would you like?”

“I’ll…have what he’s having,” Thorin said, pointing at Bilbo.

“Oh, that’s an excellent choice!” Bilbo beamed, just as if Thorin had made an informed decision. He looked around the sunny little room, interlacing his fingers on the table. ”This is such a pleasant place,” he said. ”It feels rather like home. Although everything’s too big, of course,” he added with a wry look at Thorin. He picked up the teacup in front of him. ”Look at this, what an exquisite pattern.”

Thorin picked up his own cup—far too dainty for his wide hands—and peered at the little purple and yellow flowers twining around it. ”Pretty,” he agreed.

“Violets, my favorite,” Bilbo sighed, putting it back on the saucer with a tiny click.

Dwarvish drinking cups were generally made of metal and wood; Thorin’s hands felt clumsy and awkward on the satiny china. Bilbo was talking about different kinds of sugars and something called clotted cream, his voice happy. Thorin watched him, absorbed in his own world of flowers and tea and doilies. A month ago he would have dismissed such things as frivolous fripperies. A month ago, before he had seen this fussy little hobbit hold off a warg, fight a giant spider, rescue him and his men from the deep dungeons of Mirkwood.

Soon enough, their teacups were full of steaming brown liquid. Bilbo inhaled the steam rapturously, and Thorin followed suit, surreptitiously watching Bilbo’s face to make sure he was doing it right as he cautiously lifted the cup.

The tea was light and sweet, with a slight hint of bitterness beneath. ”It’s good,” he said, somewhat surprised.

Bilbo sighed happily. ”It is, isn’t it?” He smiled at Thorin, and Thorin looked down at his teacup, took another quick sip. ”Thank you for sharing this with me. It’s a shame to drink tea alone, and as much as I like them, the other dwarves, well…”

The image broke into Thorin’s head unbidden: thirteen dwarves in the cozy little tea house, juggling sugar cubes, guzzling tea and belching. He snorted with sudden laughter, choking slightly on his tea, and heard Bilbo join in.

Everyone in the tea room was looking at them, but Thorin Oakenshield couldn’t possibly have cared less.

This one looks similar to Bear Trap and smells very berry. Surprise right? This is actually my first ever pu’erh. I’m a little nervous.

Steeping it smells exactly like the Triple Berry flavour of Oatmeal Crisp cereal. That I do like.

Fascinating – I was expecting a deep red/pink colour with all the berries but it’s the colour of coffee. I’m tasting the strawberries, yes. Good start to exploring pu’erhs.

I am so glad I like this one more than I liked the Aloha Pu-erh. I love the rich berry flavor, the pu-erh keeping it from becoming too sweet or too tart, it’s just…mmm. It’s perfect. I didn’t even mind the hibiscus, and I’m a huge hibiscus hater. But I think I need to stock up on this one.

Dry Leaf Nose: Sweet with a prominent berry note.

Liquor: Light golden colour with an opaque nature.

Flavour: Sweet with prominent berry and strawberry notes which cover some of this pu’erh’s earthiness.

I have one more sample left from Shmiracles after this one and only a few more from other people after that. The never ending box of samples is nearing it’s end. It’s almost time for more swapping! (^.^)
I’ve said before that although I like pu-erh, I find it an awful base for most sweet flavors. That being said, this is one of the better sweet flavored pu-erh blends that I’ve had, and from DavidsTea no less. If you are into flavored pu-erhs, I hight recommend this one. As for me, I’ll take my strawberries and blackberries with a black tea, thank you :)

I can’t sleep…blah…so I have switched from Chamomile to Berry Good &
This truly is Berry Good :-)
I am going to have to try some more Pu-erhs
I really like this…very nice take…the earthy base on this one is not so intense, and
it allows the berries to really shine. It has kind of a muddy aroma, but the taste is super fresh.
This would be especially nice in the summer, but the thoughts of summer it is bringing
to me are quite relaxing at the moment.
This is sweet, but not overly sweet…just a slight hint of tartness…very nicely balanced.
The re-steep lacks this hint of tartness, but is still worth drinking.
The berry flavor is so authentic, like a mixed berry jam.
With all due respect, I disagree with Sil…the base really makes this one.
I feel (personally) the base makes this a solid tea that can stand alone; whereas another
base (such as a white) might make it overly sweet without much depth.
This is really nice! Thanks, Whiskey Buzz
I can see this being a Summer Staple :-)