Topaz Pu-er

Sipdown #4 of the day!

Apparently I am one of the few steepsterities that are up and rearin’-to-go this morning! I do see a few others and those I say GOOD MORNING! :)

Because I am going a little more hardcore than usual today – I want you all to take a look at my other loggings because there is something FREE mentioned in at least one of them! Check it out!

Anyhow…This is a decent pu-erh – one of the first ones I enjoyed after fails from other companies. This mad me be more open-minded and for that I am thankful! It’s well rounded and flavorful without being too intense! A nice one!

This is decent. The earthy qualities are not overpowering. The cup is smooth and sweet with a molasses-y kind of sweetness and a woodsy undertone. A very solid, smooth Pu-erh.

Whoa. This tea is crazy different at the right temperature. I had been overcooking the heck out of it. This is a review of technically the second infusion, after a 40 second “rinse” with 90ml of water at 190F, also brewed at 190F.

Smells: land after rain, like freshness and loamy soil, but in a good, tasty way, like a good mulch is supposed to smell. It’s got a floral aspect to it as well I think, probably the tea oils I am smelling.

It’s more complex at this temperature & really has less of the previously mentioned nutty/smoky flavor notes. The pile flavor is also gone when brewed like this. Definitely going to do it this way from now on. Really liking the precision that the coffee scale and pourover kettle are giving me. Probably was underleafing this, 5g:150ml seems like a good ratio, but maybe I will experiment with my little Hario and my gaiwan.

Sipdown no. 20 of 2020. I intend to get to 21 to break the 20 curse.

I put the last of this into the fridge as a cold brew.

I think I was getting to this point last summer, but I think it is time for me to acknowledge that I don’t love pu-er.

I really like the idea of it, and I know that a lot of people consider it to be the only tea worth drinking. But it is hard for me to fit into my lifestyle.

I have been off of work since the Monday before Christmas. I’m having a full two weeks off during a pandemic. And I still seem to be running from thing to thing.

I run from exercise to meditation to cleaning out the kitchen cabinets, to cooking dinner, to… whatever is next. Even when I am trying to practice mindfulness, I mostly have to bring myself back from thinking about, in the immortal words of President Bartlet on West Wing, what’s next?

I feel like doing justice to puer takes more time and patience than I have. In looking at the samples I have left to sip down, I’m daunted by the puer ones and when I’ll have time to do them justice.

I might as well accept it. The tea I enjoy most is the tea I don’t need to spend a lot of time making. There. I said it.

This was the first Pu-erh tea I ever tried, and I’ve come to absolutely love it. It’s very subtle and smooth, with an earthy aftertaste. It’s perfect for rainy days, and it reminds me of taking a relaxing walk through the Wadi Rum (which is contradictory and weird especially since I’ve never been to the Wadi Rum…). Usually, I like stronger teas, but this has become my go-to tea, and I drink it at least once a day. It really can hold up for a lot of steeps, and it’s complex enough that each steep is a little bit different and a little bit better :) Basically, this tea is awesome.