I think I have finally entered an acceptance with myself that I will never be a “proper” tea-drinker because I simply can’t find “enjoyment” in pu-erh; I never taste all the “nuances” one should taste in these expensive, fermented tea leaves, other than dirt or swamp water. Every. Single. Time. And I don’t enjoy either flavor note. Sue me. So after a week of not particularly looking forward to my morning cup of swamp water-flavored beverage (as that is the category this particular tea fell in for me; an earthy, yet marshy/vegetal taste, like something distinctly pond-scummy, which I taste very often in pu-erh) I have finally sipped this sample down (which I think came from Ost’s August 2018 cupboard sale, thanks for sharing!), and am quite pleased to have one less pu taking up space in my house.
Flavors: Earth, Marine, Mineral, Smooth, Vegetal, Wet Earth, Wet Moss, Wet Rocks
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NO! You don’t have to like pu-erh to be a “proper” tea drinker! It’s understandable you don’t like it. And hopefully you aren’t basing this on mostly Adagio’s pu-erh, because I find those are very pondy. Maybe someone can send you small samples of very definitely not swampy pu-erh whenever your cupboard is pared down.
I have gone to tea expos, an nice tea shops, and sampled fancy, expensive, aged pu-erh from puportedly schmancy leaves that have rested longer than I’ve been alive, and have STILL thought it tasted like pond scum. Clearly it is my problem at this point. _;;
Yeah, pu-erh just isn’t your thing then. Forget about it. haha But I wouldn’t call it a problem, unless you were bound and determined to be a pu-erh fan. :D
Yeah, pu-erh just isn’t your thing then. Forget about it. haha But I wouldn’t call it a problem, unless you were bound and determined to be a pu-erh fan. :D
You don’t have to like puerh! I don’t love darjeeling…and the only other local tea lover I knew at first drank it nearly exclusively and I got the impression she was horrified that I didn’t love what was clearly best! Ha ha!
It seems you are drinking ripe puerh. Have you tried raw or sheng? It reminds me of green or white tea, depending on the type, but I find it too brisk and astringent, sometimes even sour, unless I make it way less aggressively than called for. But then I enjoy it very much! So maybe sheng is more your style, or no puerh at all, which is also perfectly good! A lot of purists would probably say only sheng counts anyway. Ha ha!
Come to think of it, I think I did drink one sheng at a tea festival that I actually liked. And i think my thought at that time was something along the lines of, “I can’t believe I actually don’t hate a pu-erh.” You may be right, perhaps I need to try more shengs. So far, other than a few flavored blends, my track record with shus has been terrible!
Honestly I prefer shengs to ripes too! So, I am totally on same boat as you; I like to drink pu-erh now and then, but sometimes they are way too time consuming. Or blend isn’t great. Depends!
If you won’t like it, not a big issue! I felt bit miserable when I came here and r/tea drinking mostly only tea bags, because of my collection. Now I am drinking almost everything.
NO! You don’t have to like pu-erh to be a “proper” tea drinker! It’s understandable you don’t like it. And hopefully you aren’t basing this on mostly Adagio’s pu-erh, because I find those are very pondy. Maybe someone can send you small samples of very definitely not swampy pu-erh whenever your cupboard is pared down.
I have gone to tea expos, an nice tea shops, and sampled fancy, expensive, aged pu-erh from puportedly schmancy leaves that have rested longer than I’ve been alive, and have STILL thought it tasted like pond scum. Clearly it is my problem at this point. _;;
Yeah, pu-erh just isn’t your thing then. Forget about it. haha But I wouldn’t call it a problem, unless you were bound and determined to be a pu-erh fan. :D
Yeah, pu-erh just isn’t your thing then. Forget about it. haha But I wouldn’t call it a problem, unless you were bound and determined to be a pu-erh fan. :D
You don’t have to like puerh! I don’t love darjeeling…and the only other local tea lover I knew at first drank it nearly exclusively and I got the impression she was horrified that I didn’t love what was clearly best! Ha ha!
It seems you are drinking ripe puerh. Have you tried raw or sheng? It reminds me of green or white tea, depending on the type, but I find it too brisk and astringent, sometimes even sour, unless I make it way less aggressively than called for. But then I enjoy it very much! So maybe sheng is more your style, or no puerh at all, which is also perfectly good! A lot of purists would probably say only sheng counts anyway. Ha ha!
Come to think of it, I think I did drink one sheng at a tea festival that I actually liked. And i think my thought at that time was something along the lines of, “I can’t believe I actually don’t hate a pu-erh.” You may be right, perhaps I need to try more shengs. So far, other than a few flavored blends, my track record with shus has been terrible!
Honestly I prefer shengs to ripes too! So, I am totally on same boat as you; I like to drink pu-erh now and then, but sometimes they are way too time consuming. Or blend isn’t great. Depends!
If you won’t like it, not a big issue! I felt bit miserable when I came here and r/tea drinking mostly only tea bags, because of my collection. Now I am drinking almost everything.