40

I’m trying to put all my Strand Tea orders to the forefront due to age, so I made a cup of this for my work thermos this morning. They call it “Pu-erh Mocha” but it is obvious from the ingredients that it is wholesaled from Metropolitan Tea Company and is their Ethiopian Mocha Pu-erh blend.

Don’t like coffee? Then you won’t like this tea. I think this is one of those “gateway” blends, as the coffee element is very strong. I haven’t had coffee in quite some time now, so I imagine the caffeine is going to hit me hard; this actually has ground coffee in the blend, not just whole beans to give it a “coffee flavor”, so it will pack a jolt. I used to drink coffee quite a bit back in the day, but my stomach is a lot more sensitive these days, and even mixed with the pu-erh, I’m not sure if I can handle something like this anymore, even though I don’t mind the taste. It’s just a might too acidic-feeling when I deal with a lot of nausea/IBS with my migraines and the pu-erh doesn’t seem to be cutting that feeling in my gut down enough. I get some subtle earthy notes, and the mild hint of burnt sugar from the butterscotch is nice, but I wouldn’t mind that being a bit stronger, just to add a touch more sweetness to the cup to counter how bitter it is coming off… perhaps next time I should try this latte-style with some almond milk? That may make all the difference. Otherwise, I’m not sure if I can possibly sip down this much leaf of this tea. It’s just too wrought-iron strong for how sensitive my stomach has become.

Flavors: Bitter, Burnt Sugar, Coffee, Earth

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 14 OZ / 400 ML
Nattie

I wonder if brewing this as if it were coffee might help? I’ve just been reading Roswell’s notes about the DT ‘tea espresso’ and they seem to be quite mild.

Mastress Alita

But those were actually tea, not coffee grounds. Just formulated for use in an espresso machine. This does have pu-erh leaf in it, so I’m not sure if, say, putting it in a coffee machine vs. a gravity well infuser and having that steaming hot water dumped over it would be the right choice…

Nattie

Hmm, good point.. I would be tempted to say try it and see, just because coffee grounds and pu are things I usually prepare similarly anyway. Maybe a French press? closer to a gravity steeper? Idk. Maybe not worth it if it’s giving you an upset stomach.

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Nattie

I wonder if brewing this as if it were coffee might help? I’ve just been reading Roswell’s notes about the DT ‘tea espresso’ and they seem to be quite mild.

Mastress Alita

But those were actually tea, not coffee grounds. Just formulated for use in an espresso machine. This does have pu-erh leaf in it, so I’m not sure if, say, putting it in a coffee machine vs. a gravity well infuser and having that steaming hot water dumped over it would be the right choice…

Nattie

Hmm, good point.. I would be tempted to say try it and see, just because coffee grounds and pu are things I usually prepare similarly anyway. Maybe a French press? closer to a gravity steeper? Idk. Maybe not worth it if it’s giving you an upset stomach.

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Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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