Pu-erh is one of those things I really enjoy, but I wish it didn’t last for so many steeps since I just don’t drink that many cups of hot tea most days. I had three cups at work, and I’m going to have a fourth before the day is over, but by tomorrow the leaves won’t be any good for the 5th, 6th, 7th steepings that I know it’s capable of.
Anyway, after rinsing with hot water, the first steep was a pretty mahogany color, but not as developed and rich as the 2nd and 3rd steeps were. The second and third looked like soy sauce because the button of leaves had broken apart. In that first steep and a little in the second too, I always get that very distinct dashi stock smell. It makes me feel like I’m drinking the broth from my signature udon noodle soup. After the first fishy cup, it starts to mellow out and get that ‘deeper’ flavor. Kind of malty and almost chocolaty. I am still surprised by the complete lack of astringency in pu-erhs.
As crude as it is to say pu-erh tastes like dirt, I really mean it in the best way possible. It tastes like rich, nutritious, alive soil. Soil where the earth itself is born and reborn.
You can absolutely steep pu-erh across multiple days. I do it all the time.