Many pu-erh teas have a unique earthy and woodsy flavor. In the case of “cooked” Pu-erh, imagine you are walking through a forest just after a morning rain. As you close your eyes you can smell the damp soil beneath your feet, the leaves that cover the forest floor, the emerald moss on the shadow side of the trees, and wild mushrooms coming up beneath bushes along the trail. This is the somewhat mysterious world of Pu-erh tea.
The flavor of the Yunnan black tea leaf is the basis for pu-erh teas and comes through the processing and aging but it is altered, smoother, earthy, deeper – a burgundy of teas. Pu-erh has been popular in parts of China for centuries where it was frequently paired with foods that were heavy or cooked in oil. The tea was the perfect digestive antidote to heavy or oily foods.
Pu-erh teas have seen renewed modern interest due to its notoriety as a slimming tea that dampens the appetite, helps moderate cholesterol levels and enhances the metabolism. Recent studies seem to support this claim. A unique fermentation processing step specific to Pu-erh teas imparts the tea with these unique health benefits.
Our loose leaf Pu-erh is harvested from ancient tea trees and combined with organic ginger pieces to add another tasting layer and health giving component to this exceptional tea. The familiar ginger flavor balances well with the Pu-erh tea.
How to Prepare Pu-erh with Ginger:
Heat water (filtered if possible) to boiling or 212˚F and let it cool slightly. Pu-erh teas are best brewed by starting with a quick rinsing or awakening of the tea leaves. Add one teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup (apprx. 8 ounces) to the teapot or cup and add hot water for 30 seconds and pour out the water. Add hot water for the number of cups being prepared and begin the first infusion, steeping the tea for 3–4 minutes depending on taste preference.
Can be infused 3-4 times or more (some tea drinkers prefer using smaller cups and extending the number of infusions out to 8-9 times enjoying the subtle changes in the tea from one infusion to the next). Usually drunk plain, may be slightly sweetened if desired.
Ingredients:
Organic pu-erh tea from Yunnan, China, organic ginger pieces.
Actually, pretty much everyone recommends brewing ripe/shu puerh with boiling (or at the very least nearly boiling water, like 205+) including one or more rinses with boiling water. Personally, I’ve found that using water significantly below boiling on shu puerh not only kills the flavors but makes the texture go all weird and gross
I was instructed by a Chinese tea master to start out with a cold rinse, followed by the boiling rinse. Then I let the leaves sit without water for a few minutes. I personally would not want two boiling rinses if the tea is completely new to me because I want to test a first steep for the quality of the cake. That is going to distinguish the real quality of the tea, because tastes like fishiness will not be masked. A two rinse would be what I would use to rescue a tea that is not the best, not worth throwing away. This is just me, what I would do.