Ripened Chrysanthemum Pu-erh Mini Tuocha

I have been feeling a little bit “off” for a couple of weeks now. I am pretty sure it is from too much holiday food combined with getting off of my exercise schedule during the holidays and now trying to put it all back together. After meals I feel especially strange, so I think my digestion needs some TLC.

I turn to puerh tonight to see if that will help. This is the my very last tuo cha from Teavivre, but I do have two kinds of their loose puerh left as well as the beeng Cha I got from Mandala in December. This was actually sent to me by AmyOh way back, but since it is puerh it has only been getting better!

I gave this a 30 second rinse, then a one minute steep. It is nice and dark. I immediately made another one minute steep and combine the two in my fair cup. It is still quite dark. The flavor is rich and the floral aspect muted. The taste is not fishy at all, and very horsey. I think of piles of leaves and mushrooms, nice and earthy.

I will probably go three more steeps on this tonight.

Edited to add: final steeps were so good. The tea seemed to get a thicker mouthfeel, that thing I call a cedar oil coating. It feels so smooth.

Another sipdown of another sample!
I just got home from a performance with the UMSL University Symphony Orchestra. The highlight of the performance was a cello concerto, Schelomo. The young man who played it was amazing, I feel honored to have been part of the orchestra tonight!
So I’m having this tea to wind down, & also getting ready to start on my taxes in a few minutes. I have to tell you, this tea brewed beautifully! The chrysanthemum floated to the surface & looked so perfect, that I took a pic & posted it on my FB. If you want to see it, go to https://www.facebook.com/terri.langerak.

Anyway, a beautiful evening!

For the rest of today I will ONLY be sipping and posting NEW TO ME Teas and Tasting Notes :)

For this one…I will do an infusion test.

1st infusion
1minute

Color: Medium Brown
Aroma Prior To Infusing: Edamame-like and semi woodsy
Aroma After Infusing: Earthy and Woodsy but subtle than most Pu-erhs
Taste: It’s quite nice! I’m pleasantly surprised! It’s caramelly, semi-malty-cocoa, and a hint of floral mixed with woodsy. I’m very glad this isn’t overly floral. Also very glad this isn’t too harsh of a pu-erh “muddy” flavor. This is very nice! I really enjoyed the first infusion! I’m looking forward to the 2nd infusion…to compare. As it cools a bit it does get sweeter…neat!

I received a sample of this in my most recent shipment from Teavivre (Thanks, Angel!). I’m excited to try it out since I love a good pu-erh and I really enjoy chrysanthemum herbal infusions.

I was a little concerned at first since there was precisely one chrysanthemum in the tuo. Then I realized that it’s been in that little wrapped up tuo for quite a long time, so I really haven’t got anything to worry about, now have I?

I’m in the office, so I used my “Perfect Tea Maker” or whatever it’s called from Teavana (a very nice gift from my friend, TheDizzyPixie). The infusion is nice and dark and beautiful to me. It has the earthiness of any pu-erh, but a nice sweetness to the aroma that speaks to the chrysanthemum.

The tea itself is a surprisingly mellow, nice pu-erh with a pleasant, lightly sweet after-taste.

I’m very happy with this and imagine I shall be ordering more in future!

tu– cha

Appearance: small tu-cha button, Chrysanthemum pressed into the back of it.
Aroma when Dry: toasted nuts, earthy, faint floral notes
After water is first poured: nutty, creamy, buttery caramel notes
At end of first steep: murky, earthy, peaty, floral
Tea liquor:
At first? Light red brown
At end of steep: opaque black– brown
Staple? No
Preferred time of day: afternoon
Taste:
At first?: heavy, slightly creamy earthy notes, clay, hints of floral, slight sour finish
As it cools?: notes get more earthy, heavier
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, deep earth notes, slight floral leads on sour close

Second steep (3 min)
Aroma: floral,woody
Taste:
At first: more Chrysanthemum notes, with floral notes lingering longer, still heavy, earthy

A very nice Pu-erh. Pressed inside the little tuocha is a chrysanthemum blossom … making for a “treasure hunt” of sorts. Makes the act of brewing tea a little more fun.

And I like the contrast of flavors that the chrysanthemum provides. It is sweet, but it is a different sweetness than the caramel-y tones from the Pu-erh, which keeps things interesting. It also has a slight sharpness to it that sort of lightens what would otherwise be a heavy, earthy background. This juxtaposition of flavors give the cup an interesting sense of balance that I quite enjoy.

I’m off to write a review for this one.

Many thanks to the Teavivre team for this lovely sample! The first infusion after a short rinse yielded a very dark, almost thick tea. It was a little bit earthy for my taste, but this was easily remedied with the addition of a small amount of sugar and a splash of milk. The second infusion was just as dark, but not as thick as the first. The floral aspect of the chrysanthemum is more noticeable this time around and adds a nice, light sweetness. The third infusion was significantly lighter with the floral sweetness even more noticeable than before.

Overall, I really enjoyed this pu-erh. I would love to try the other varieties from Teavivre – specifically the rose pu-erh. I am loving my samples from Teavivre so far. Thanks again for the chance to sample some of your tea!

Sample provided courtesy of Teavivre…

I’ve never had a Chysanthemum pu-erh before and I was looking forward to trying this one. It was very nice the way the flower opened up after this steeped. 195 F water for 2-3 minutes. I should have used boiling but that’s what our water boiler is set to currently.

First steep: This is pretty earthy and woodsy! It’s also a bit seaweedy with a hint of smoke. I wonder if I should have tossed the first steep?

Second steep: Floral scent is emerging! I am getting a bit of the sweetness here and it’s a lot less murky than the first steep. I need to get into the habit of rinsing these a bit in boiling water before steeping them.

When it comes to pu-erhs I am biased and picky. I do have definite preferences and flavor profiles but I don’t think this is one of them. I may have to spend some more time with this tea before I can really assess it. I was glad I had the chance to try it but I’m a little confused by it.

I was given this one by TeaVivre, so thank you again!

I drank it this morning after an almost sleepless night to calm me down a little bit. While steeping, the chrysanthemum flower came of and blossomed in the pot, which made the act of brewing so much more fun :)

The color was really thick and dark, just the way I like it. At first I thought I oversteeped it, but it turned out to be just right. The taste is really earthy, with some wooden touches. On the second steeping, the floral hints are becoming more apparent, which I like very much. And is leaves a great sweet aftertaste, but I still added half a teaspoon of sugar to help that floral taste to be richer.

A great tea, I will be looking forward to ordering this one and maybe trying some of the other TeaVivre Pu-Erhs.

Nice ripe pu-erh, deep and not too simple. Chrysanthemum blossom adds some interesting taste at later steeps. http://www.teablr.com/?p=531