Golden Bridge Brand

This is only the third Puer style tea I have tried, but if it were the only one it might have put me off the style. This is a review of an infusion after a 1 minute “rinse” infusion, which I discarded because it smelled like pile flavor.

This is another shou puerh, and it seems like it’s maybe not high quality given how cheap it was, $8.50USD for 227 grams at the Vietnamese grocery store, which should have been a red flag, but I have heard this brand being described as decentm. It comes in a big plastic bag that is not resealable. The leaves are pretty huge, which is odd.

Color of the liquor is very dark brown, almost black.

Flavor is okay. Not very complex. Smooth, mild flavor kind of like other shou Puerh I have tried, but not many of the more complex notes, at least on the first try. I would need to get to know this tea to say more. There is a slight rainwater or pondwater note to it, like the green and wet smell of water with algae in it, is maybe the worst aspect. But it is rich and soothing like other puerhs. It seems to have a fair amount of caffeine in it. The aftertaste is almost citrusy, from the tea oils.

Overall not a great tea, but perfectly serviceable. The tin says “Yunnan Pu Er” and it does indeed seem to be a Puerh style tea, that probably did come from somewhere in Yunnan province, although there is no other indicator of quality. If you gamble on this expecting a really high quality tea you will be disappointed, but if you temper your expectations you will probably enjoy this tea alright.

Found this Chinese Pu Er at a local Vietnamese market.
Package is cylindrical, ca. 7" tall and 4" in diameter.
Label colors are mostly dark yellow and burgundy/rust with a green and white oval sticker as a safety precaution to show that package has not been opened.

Lid pops off too quickly with a turn.

Mylar bag inside with loose tea. Nothing in package to reclose the mylar bag. Large leaves. Friendly, slightly inviting smell of a light brown, tiny bit fruity pu erh, and the smell of cardboard.

First sip. Mild. Tastes of cardboard.
Wonder how flavor- and smell-protective the mylar is. Cardboard is not.

Second more focussed sip.. Cardboardy taste is very there.
Reminds me of drinking tea made from tea bags that have been exposed to the air for weeks or months.

Gulping from the back of the mouth, to see if different taste buds change my impression. No. The tea still has and leaves a cardboard aftertaste.

There is another taste of a mild, pleasant, very-on-the-cheap-side pu erh.

Not completely undrinkable, but, if someone had a better choice, this one could be used for poultices or compost or ???

I rarely toss a tea after so few swallows. But, this one is now in the trash.