Wild Purple Buds Puerh

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Green Beans, Leather, Mineral, Autumn Leaf Pile, Cherry Wood, Dirt, Honey, Smoke, Peas, Smoked, Wood
Sold in
Not available
Caffeine
Not available
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Tea Pet
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 15 sec 5 g 5 oz / 150 ml

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42 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I am revisiting this tea this afternoon, using the same measurement of leaves from last night, and steeping them yet again. And again! This tea just keeps on going, like the Energizer bunny. The...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “sipdown! (178…so 28 teas to go until black friday!) That makes me super happy since i suspect the next week or so will be less sipdowns than normal. I will likely reorder this as it is an...” Read full tasting note
    83
  • “I had to evacuate my home yesterday. One never knows what a hurricane may do. I decided to bring this along if things get bad. The center of the storm is coming soon and already there is...” Read full tasting note
    98
  • “Wooo Hooo 200 Tasting Notes! Well, if you don’t pat yoursef on the back, who will?! What to do, what to do? My 200th review should be something different. I love me some Puerh…yes I do. Today’s tea...” Read full tasting note
    93

From Butiki Teas

Our Wild Purple Buds Puerh originates from Yunnan, China on the border of China and Burma. This tea was harvested from wild ancient trees at an altitude of 6,000 feet by the Wa tribal people in 2011. Our puerh falls in the Sheng (raw) category of puerh and is in loose leaf-form. The buds of this tea are purple, green, and yellow. Purple buds indicate a higher level of anthocyanin (a flavoniod). This flavonoid usually causes bitterness but does not in this case as this is a smooth puerh. Our puerh has light smoked oak notes with honey and floral notes and has a juicy mouthfeel. This rare tea is of limited supply.

About Butiki Teas View company

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42 Tasting Notes

90
4843 tasting notes

I am revisiting this tea this afternoon, using the same measurement of leaves from last night, and steeping them yet again. And again! This tea just keeps on going, like the Energizer bunny.

The flavors today are remarkably smooth, noticing only a trace of the mineral-y taste I experienced yesterday, sweet, a little bit of the honey-esque tone but more of a floral sweetness.

This is one of the most incredible Puerh teas I’ve encountered.

Bonnie

Incredible and yes, an energizer bunny!

Tommy Toadman

sounds great!

Charles Thomas Draper

I agree this is one fine Puerh.

TeaBrat

Hmm. I might need to get this someday!

Kashyap

is it considered a sheng or shou? what year/harvest?

Bonnie

Sheng 2011…6,000 ft.

Kashyap

thanks!

CHAroma

It doesn’t even seem anything like what I know Puer tea to be. Interesting.

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83
15006 tasting notes

sipdown! (178…so 28 teas to go until black friday!) That makes me super happy since i suspect the next week or so will be less sipdowns than normal. I will likely reorder this as it is an interesting puerh that resteeps super well. I’ve been drinking this for most of the afternoon while i tried to wrap up work for the weekend.

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98
294 tasting notes

I had to evacuate my home yesterday. One never knows what a hurricane may do. I decided to bring this along if things get bad. The center of the storm is coming soon and already there is flooding of historical proportions. The first few sips are tingling my tongue and throat. An immediate warmth is felt upon my whole body. After sipping, I sigh. What a lovely tea. My pores feel as if they are all open and breathing in this intense tea. My mouth is wet and the tea flavor continues to linger. There are moments in ones life when certain teas help one cope with certain situations. This is when one turns to Sheng.

Butiki Teas

Sorry to hear that you had to evacuate. I hope you stay safe.

TheTeaFairy

Oh my, so sorry to read that! must be so devastating having to leave your home behind, but one must stay safe, it’s the right thing to do….On CNN today, I’ve seen people from Long Island resisting and refusing to leave. I can’t judge cause I’ve never been confronted to a situation like that, but stuff is just stuff, no matter how important it may seem, it is never worth risking your life for…Having said that, hope you can go back soon with as little damage as possible…

Bonnie

All the best to you! Keep us posted on the What tea to drink during the hurricane thread discussion!

Geoffrey Norman

I heart this stuff. Such a resilient sheng.

Charles Thomas Draper

I returning home today!!

TeaBrat

glad to hear you are getting to go back!

Charles Thomas Draper

Thanks. I am home. No problems. A miracle

Butiki Teas

So good to hear that things are fine there. :)

TheTeaFairy

Yay! so happy for you :-)

sandra-kuba.pl

" There are moments in ones life when certain teas help one cope with certain situations. " Nice sentance.

Backlink Techteam

Yayasan impian Anda dapat terwujud dengan biaya 3 Juta saja! https://hivefive.co.id/jasa-pembuatan-yayasan-di-indonesia/

Backlink Techteam

Buat koperasi Anda sekarang dengan harga spesial 5 Juta! https://hivefive.co.id/jasa-pembuatan-koperasi-di-indonesia/

Backlink Techteam

Firma bisnis Anda dapat dibuat dengan mudah dan hanya 2,5 Juta! https://hivefive.co.id/jasa-pembuatan-firma-di-indonesia/

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93
676 tasting notes

Wooo Hooo 200 Tasting Notes! Well, if you don’t pat yoursef on the back, who will?!

What to do, what to do? My 200th review should be something different. I love me some Puerh…yes I do. Today’s tea should be something different. Stacy (owner of Butiki Teas) had graciously provided me with an ounce of Wild Purple Buds Puerh (Sheng) and this seemed the right choice for this 200th occasion. Thank you to Stacy!

The dry leaf looks amazing. The leaves don’t look like tea leaves, or not what I’ve ever seen before. The leaf is large, full of spiky buds that look like wheat…green, brown, gold and lavender tipped.
The instructions are 3-5 second steep, 195F for 20+ steepings! Begin the day with this tea!!! I started today at 7:30 a.m. and I’m not going to write about 20+ infusions.

I used my PIAO glass infuser pot to watch the leaves and control time.
The liquor color was consistantly pale champagne yellow through all infusions.

Wet Leaves:
1. Floral, vegital, smoky tobacco, and brine scented. Brown, golden and purple tipped.
2.-4. Strongly vegital scented.
5.-6. Leaves were greener and not as multicolored. They opened up, especially the buds and the scent was still strongly vegital.

Flavor:
1. The first impression was on my lips, the coating of cream that I could feel like butter then spreading throughout my mouth like the flavor of creamy white sweet corn. The taste was a little salty and completely smooth and without any tannin or bitterness at all.
2. A little tannin was present on this round right up front, then sweet and creamy like new Spring green beans. There was no bitter or acidic finish.
3. This was the best pour. The buttery feel was coating my lips and the vegital flavor had become cooked greens or butter lettuce…and the tannin had jumped to the finish…leaving a slightly peppery feel on the tongue. This is a Puerh? I am not able to comprehend that this is a Puerh. No earthiness…it tastes like a green tea. But not.
4. What now? My brain was confused. When I took another sip, the flavor was mineral, sweet and juicy, smooth and buttery with a tingling…then a honey wheat bread and greens taste. Sure, how did that make sense? Was I almost discribing a salad with croutons?
5.-6. These steepings brought out more buttery, smoothness and a little saltiness. A new floral quality that I found to be vaguely like paperwhite was now present. Tannin was dry like linen on the finish making the tea very juicy.

Here I added a little sugar. The saltiness of the Puerh and the vegital quality with the tannin with a bit of sugar created a beautiful balance of sweet/salty tea that brightened the cup tremendously. Here is where I would play with this effect. It made this tea dance and sparkle with flavor.

I have been pleased with the tea’s from Butiki…the new ones that are not commonly available elsewhere like the Wild Purple Bud Puerh and the Blue Nettle and some of the African Tea’s. Most of all the wonderful customer service has been so appreciated!

http://youtu.be/PSH0eRKq1lE Bagpipes…Well! (Bonnie Cameron-Johnstone)

LiberTEAS

Congrats on 200 tasting notes! Yours are always very informative and interesting reads!

TeaBrat

This looks intriguing. Happy 200!

ScottTeaMan

This is one of the few teas from Butiki that seemed to catch my attention.

ScottTeaMan

Congrats!! By the time I get to 200 reviews I’ll be nearly 35 years old! Are you with me peeps? Hehehe…….yeah right. :))

Daisy Chubb

Yay may the bagpipes play for 200 tasting notes! I love seeing your notes every day Bonnie – you inspire and bring joy :)

Bonnie

Thank you sweet Daisy and Scott! I guess this means I’ve finally reached 35 years of age right Scott?!

Bonnie

Thank you LiberTEAS! Thanks Amy (are you feeling better?) .

ScottTeaMan

yeah Bonnie :))

TeaBrat

Bonnie – yes, thank you. I had to go to the doctor have my ear irrigated but that certainly helped.

Erin

Happy 200!! I love your notes— they’ve helped me improve on my own tea tastings. :)

Azzrian

Congrats!! :) You made this sound so wonderful! Buttery and Salty?!?! Two of my fav things! YUMM!!!!

Invader Zim

Congrats on 200! and this sounds like a very interesting tea, did you make it to 20 steepings?

Bonnie

Are you kidding…I still have more to go this evening!

Missy

Congratulations!

Butiki Teas

Congrats on 200 tasting notes! That’s quite an accomplishment. Very descriptive review. Quite interesting the notes you were picking out of that tea.

Bonnie

Thank you all my tea friends! Thanks Butiki! (I had more infusions of both tea’s ending with the Rose Violet for dessert!) .

Indigobloom

Yay for 200 posts!!! Congrats :)

CHAroma

Woot!! Congratulations on reaching 200 tasting notes!!! And this tea is intriguing. Puer that doesn’t taste earthy and brews up to a yellow liquor? I didn’t know such a thing could exist!

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79
639 tasting notes

I’m in an adventurous mood, so I’m going to try a tea I bought on a whim and am most likely not going to like. Yep, it’s my second experience with the dreaded puer!! Dun dun DUN!

Just from reading the label, it’s already a new experience for me. You’re supposed to steep 4 grams in 4 oz. of boiling water for 3-5 seconds. And you get 20+ infusions??! Wow. Okay, here goes nothing.

First, the aroma. Leather. It smells exactly like leather. I like wearing leather and smelling leather but drinking leather? Hmm. First sip is…surprising. I do taste leather but there’s a lot more going on too. It’s very complex. Naturally sweet and a tad spicy. Aromatic and interesting. Wow!! Maybe I can enjoy puer?

I’d never be able to go 20+ infusions if I drank the whole cup each time, so I’m going to take a few sips, pour it out, and then move on to the next steep. Please forgive this blasphemous behavior. I can tell from that first cup alone that this is a high quality tea that any puer enthusiast would drool over. Lucky for this tea, I just set up a swap with someone who does like puer. So, the rest of this ½ ounce sample will go to the loving home of Shmiracles!! :)

Anyway, back to the mission at hand. Here are my thoughts from my inexperienced tongue:

1st steep: As described above, but also with a bit of something akin to dry autumn grassiness. The aftertaste is reminiscent of a high quality green; something like Organic Dragon Tip.

2nd steep: Wow! Burned my mouth. That’s HOT! Anyway, the leather is a little more enjoyable now and not so horse saddle-like. The grassiness/vegetal flavor is more pronounced now as well and reminds me of buttery vegetables. I had to read the description for more ideas of how to describe this unique flavor. I definitely get the association with oak. It is oak-y.

3rd steep: Leather is continuing to fade and is being replaced by a floral oak-y-ness and buttery vegetables. This is the first steep that I detected floral notes. This infusion also has a great umami!! Buttery and silky smooth. My favorite mouthfeel and flavor so far.

4th steep: At this point, the buds are open. Leather is almost completely gone now. Floral oak is the most prominent flavor now. It still has that buttery vegetable aftertaste too. This is becoming more and more drinkable for me! I can say that I’m actually enjoying it!

5th steep: Floral oak. Buttery vegetable. And some unidentifiable puer-ness that distinguishes itself as definitely not a green tea, despite the similarities I’m finding. After this cup, my teapot ran out of hot water. So, I had to wait while I boiled more.

6th steep: Same as 5 above but maybe a tad lighter on flavor. Very enjoyable.

7th steep: Went with a little longer steep this time. About 15 seconds. A tad more spiciness is apparent, matching what I tasted in that first cup.

I’m getting a little bored now though, so I think I’ll call it quits here. Although I’m rating it a 79, I’d probably rate it a 100 if I actually liked puer. A 79 from me is extremely high considering that my only other puer experience gathered a whopping 25 and was thrown out after a couple sips. No re-steeps there. So, don’t mistake me; I’m giving this one high praise!!

I have the 2012 variety by the way. Also, the liquor was extremely light yellow the entire time for me. It never reached that light brown color as pictured. But I did use very short steeps. Another thing to note, it’s really hard not to burn your mouth in between steeps. How do you puer drinkers do it? I don’t have a gaiwan, so I just used my regular stainless steel infuser basket and 8 ounce owl mug (although I was careful to only fill it up halfway each time).

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C
TeaBrat

I usually get bored after 3 infusions, which is bad of me I know!

Kittenna

Yep… I don’t usually want more than three cups of a tea before I’m done with it too, expensive pu’erh or not…

Fjellrev

I’m bad at 3+ infusions too. And leather? I can see that being an acquired taste.

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88
807 tasting notes

This is a highly interesting cup.
There is a nice floral note, and a honey juice flavor if juice were made from honey I imagine it would taste like this. Its not sappy sweet though, clearly, but it has such a nice honey nectar flavor that is light and bursts in the mouth with juiciness.
There is a deep woods like note in this cup, sometimes I think I get a little cinnamon but as soon as I taste it its gone so Im not sure lol.
This is young and has so much more it can unfold for us.
If I had better storage I would grab some and put it away for much later.
I don’t trust my knowledge level or ability to sustain the quality of this tea for that long however.
This is a really easy pu’erh to drink and I feel equally good for both beginners and those who appreciate a fine pu’erh.

Kashyap

I’ve been collecting a few teas from varietals that are of the ‘purple’ leaf variety…consider finding the purple tea from Royal tea of Kenya for another example

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74
6105 tasting notes

Sipdown! Thanks for sending me a sample of this tea to satisfy my curiousity, Boxermama!

I wasn’t sure how I should go about brewing this (I always entertain notions of properly gong-fu brewing pu’erhs and other fancy teas)… but rationality won out, and I went with Western-style gong-fu, which is more what I usually do (if not strict Western-style). Hence, a full tbsp of leaf in about 8oz. water (instead of 4 oz.), and a 20 second infusion. And no, I didn’t rinse.

First impression? Wow – this sure coloured/flavoured up nicely with such a short infusion! And the taste? Light, a bit spicy and earthy. And now for a momentous occasion… while sipping, I thought to myself “gee, this sure tastes like a sheng. I wonder what type of pu’erh it is?” And sure enough… it’s a sheng! Woaaaah I can differentiate the two major types of pu’erh! What an accomplishment. (Yes, there’s a bit of self-directed sarcasm there.)

Anyhow, as per usual, I really have no other taste descriptors for the flavour. It’s enjoyable, and it reminds me of other shengs, obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have guessed correctly (or likely thought to guess, for that matter). Providing descriptions for things has always been a weak spot for me; while I do think I am capable of tasting nuances in fancy, expensive, delicious teas, I am incapable of describing them. [I’m the sort of person who picks up on off-flavours in various items quite readily.] It’s kind of annoying, but certainly nowhere close to the top of my current list of annoyances, so perhaps sometime in the distant future when my life no longer belongs to my thesis, SAS, my advisor, the university… I will attempt to remedy this. Until then, you get “tastes like sheng” and “tastes like yabao”. Le sigh.

On that note – my memory for flavours is also rather crappy sometimes, and I can’t remember the last time I had a sheng… and so really couldn’t tell you how this ranks up against others. I do enjoy it though!

ETA: Second infusion 30s, stronger sheng flavour, still with a bit of sweetness. I suppose smoky or leathery might be some good descriptors here.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec
BoxerMama

I totally suck at describing flavours as well. lol, Glad you enjoyed it.

Indigobloom

I always get them mixed up!! the names/types of pu-erh heh

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1792 tasting notes

I might as well do this Leeroy Jenkins style and try it out since I’ve had it since the summer. I’m not going into a fancy schmancy 20+, or even 8+ steep fest here because quite frankly, I’m not a fan of pu-erhs, and I anticipate crying in my sauerkraut after the fifth steep.

First steep: Ultra smoky and meaty. Like smoked meat. Barely any sweetness or anything. I can feel the shreds of charred steak between my teeth. I haven’t had a steak in over fifteen years, so this isn’t a pleasant steep for me.

Second steep: Not as smokey but still meaty. Touch of sweetness.

Third steep: Meaty with some vegetal note creeping in. Smoke in the background. These first three steeps all smell the same, though.

Fourth steep: A bit smokey but less meaty. The vegetal note is somehow softer than before. Beef jerky.

Fifth steep: A bit more vegetal with the smoke + meatiness. This is a little more balanced than the previous steeps. Even though I can see that this is getting better for my own personal tastes, I’m stopping here.

Interesting experience but this has reminded me that I’m not a fan of pu-erh. And that I don’t miss steak.

Nightshifter

Crying in your sauerkraut. LOL!

Nightshifter

Meaty/beef jerky! Lol, this is a hilarious review. I don’t like most puerhs either. :)

Courtney

Whoa smoked meat. That’s, uh, interesting haha!

Stephanie

Haaaa! I want to try it now lol

TeaLady441

Leeee-roy Jenkins!!!!

TheTeaFairy

Reading reviews is supposed to make me thirsty. I’m now hungry and I don’t even like smoked meat.

Fjellrev

I’m scarred for life. Might as well stick a steak in a juicer.

OMGsrsly

LOL! This one was way to smokey/leathery for me. My brother likes it, but there’s no accounting for his tastes. :D

Oolong Owl

LOL @ Leeeeeroy Jenkins /charges into the room, tea mug in hand
(gah, I’m on the verge of going back to WOW)

Bonnie

If you encounter a puerh that’s a bit too smoky or leathery, add a little sugar and cream. It’s amazing how puerh can transform into caramel or cake with a soft nudge.

Fjellrev

I’ve done that before and I still got smoked meat underneath. But no loss!

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81
6768 tasting notes

Liberteas thanks for this one!

This is almost a cross between an oolong and a pu-erh type flavor on my tongue. It’s a bit drier but still pleasant. I ended up doing three infusions and on the 3rd it was a woodsy type taste. Not bad at all :)

Geoffrey Norman

I loved this stuff.

Butiki Teas

Liberteas-Glad you are enjoying the purple buds! :)

Geoffrey-This one is kinda my jam. I love it, so much so that I’ve stock piled a ton of 2011 leaves but also acquired a bunch of 2012 leaves. Tomorrow when we offer our new sales, we will be reducing the price of this tea (and offering both 2011 & 2012 versions) since we were able to acquire it for a lower price.

Charles Thomas Draper

I agree with Geoffrey

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812 tasting notes

this tea is kinda almost too complex for me! i mean that complimentary.
it keeps changing it’s prominent flavors. i feel like i can’t even track it.
buttery but vegetal, sweet but earthy, oakey and light, and then something new still. like a mealy apple? idek.
the first steep wasn’t so great but i know you should sometimes rinse puerhs too, which i never do. i just drink it anyways hah. i’m sure i’m not the only one.
i’m gonna do a handful of more steeps, until i get bored or tea drunk. whichever comes first. start your bets now!
thank you CHAroma for being so generous and sending me this wonderful sample. it was on my wish list and everything. this wish has been granted!
(my sister thanks you too!)

hey PS this is my 450th tea tasted!!
ding-a-ling!

Fjellrev

Congrats on 450!

CHAroma

Congrats! And glad you liked it. :)

Nxtdoor

Nope. You’re not the only one. Although I started rinsing recently.

JustJames

so at least 450 teas drunk and smiled over! what a great leaf marker! =0)

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