Another generous sample (recent) from Teavivre… thanks so much! I’m so amazed that Teavivre’s packages get to the US so fast from China. This sample pouch had a chunk of the edge of a pu-erh cake. I haven’t had any pu-erh that is actually from a giant cake yet, so that’s fun. The leaves are mostly black with a few golden twists… which is fitting since this tea is from Yunnan. The fragrance of the dry leaves are very unique… it reminds me of something familiar, maybe cloves?
Steep #1// A few minutes after boiling // 30 seconds //
The flavor is sweet and what it reminds me of most is apple or chamomile. I certainly haven’t had a pu-erh like this before! I don’t think I’d even guess it was a pu-erh in a blind taste test. I’d probably guess chamomile. A bit like cedar too. It’s very intriguing.
Steep #2// A few minutes after boiling // 1 min //
The flavor here is tougher than last time. I think the chamomile/apple flavor is mostly gone to be left with the usual light pu-erh. But I think 1 min was a bit too long. I should have went for 45 seconds. The flavor is a little bit too tangy and even more like cedar. I think I might like the darker/ tougher pu-erhs better somehow. But this one is still very good.
Steep#3 // Just boiled // 65 seconds //
I probably shouldn’t have steeped it this long again. The flavor is much the same again. I’m not sure I know enough about pu-erh to say much about this one, or even if it should taste the way I’m tasting it. I think next time note to self: Steep 30 seconds each time, since I liked the first cup the best: not so tangy and woody (though I guess that makes sense since these are leaves.)
Another good one from Teavivre, but I don’t think I’ve tried enough pu-erh to be an expert yet. I certainly don’t love pu-erh as much as my delicious black teas though.
