Chocolate & Strawberry Puer

Just as promised. A delicious blend strawberry and chocolate. The chocolate flavor is just like candy but in a mellow subtle way. I think I may have to purchase this one. I am very picky about strawberry and chocolate blends and this is the first one I have enjoyed. Delicious!

Smells delicious. Tastes like earthy dark cocoa with syrupy strawberries. Seems almost “malted”.

Very yummy.

It’s true that puer gives a certain “richness” to the flavor—especially to sweet, foody flavors like this.

I’m very glad I got to try this—thanks Lupicia for the free sample! If all the other flavored puers are like this, then they are all must-haves!

I found this a pleasant surprise! I added a spoonful of milk as suggested in Lupicia’s newsletter, and had it with a side of dark chocolate creme-filled cookies, which was ideal. The dry tea(bag) had a slight musty smell (it is a pu-erh!) but in the brew all I noticed was a hint of earthiness. The chocolate and strawberry flavors are just a hint, which is perfect because so many flavored teas are cloying in this respect. I may have to buy some of this (but first I have a pile of Lupicia samples to get through!)

Before I get into my tasting notes, I would like to thank my good friend History Laced for going halfsies on tea with me! This is my first puer. It was a freebie given to us for making a purchase over $30 at the Lupicia tea store near us. I also want to publicly thank her for very cool journal she bought me for Christmas to write my tea notes in; I never get anything for Christmas, so I am super giddy about this. :D

Observation 1: As usual, I am at the kitchen table gossiping shamelessly as my boyfriend prepares the tea. He steeped the tea for 2 minutes in boiling water. The tea was not placed in an infuser, we used a tea strainer instead. It is a very pretty deep amber liquor.

Observation 2: The tea straight is very light flavor that I am assuming is the puer with the merest hints of a strawberry aftertaste. I do not taste any of the black tea in this blend, nor do I taste any chocolate.

Observation 3: With sugar to taste, I now begin to notice chocolate notes in the forefront. To me, it tastes as though I just had a cup of chocolate milk and followed it with a cup of strawberry milk.

Observation 4: With milk only, the chocolate and strawberry flavors are very muted; I only taste what I my brain is logically deducing as the puer.

Observation 5: With milk and sugar, there is a very light taste of chocolate with a much stronger strawberry presence. It is very smooth with no bitterness detected.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. A fan of boisterous flavors, I am not sure whether or not the delicate notes of a puer is really my cup of tea. Next, I think I would like to try a puer without any extra bells and whistles and really figure out what puer itself tastes like. There’s still so much to learn and try and with my handy dandy journal, I should be belting these out like rapid fire, that is unless I end up turning it into a rant-book like I do every other miscellaneous scrap of paper that accidentally crosses my path. :)

Boyfriend review: Goes good with milk and sugar, it is very light otherwise.

Oh pu’er, what am I to do with you? Hold my nose and drink, apparently.

One whiff of this tea in my cup and I’m reminded of why I don’t like pu’ers. I smell the notorious earthy scent of the pu’er, along with a decent amount of sweetness. I can almost smell the chocolate, but not quite, and I don’t think I can get any strawberry or fruitiness at all. It all mixes to a generic sweet attempting to balance out the pu’er. But the taste, the taste is all strawberry! chocolate covered strawberries! in a heavy, earthy base. Pu’er tea never really tastes as bad as it smells (in my opinion, obviously). In fact, this tastes quite good. I like the strawberry and chocolate, and I like the way the flavor lingers in your mouth after you take a sip. The strawberry isn’t the candied sweet variety, it’s a slightly tart real strawberry flavor, which I really like. That in itself might having me reaching for this tea more often.

Thanks go to Crystal for this sample! ETA: The undertones come out a lot more on the second and third steeping, changing the flavor quite a bit. It’s less fruity, more earthy.

I’m not much of a fan of fruity teas but I’m always in search of a good chocolate tea, plus I love puerh. So my expectations were guardedly high. What I found was a delightfully strawberry, not-so-much-chocolate, very light puerh. The flavor is mostly one of those small ripe strawberries, the sweet ones, rather than the lush large red ones. Unfortunately I have to search a bit for the puerh, and the chocolate is subtle and phantom-like, appearing and disappearing. Drank it nude (well, the tea was nude), but looking forward to seeing the flavor development with a little almond milk. Will also use a bit more tea next time to see if that will intensify the chocolate or the puerh.

If I had to attach one descriptive word to this tea it would be “fun.”

Thanks for the sample, Crystal, big score on this one!

Before steeping:
Scent- Very strong stawberries, sweet and a hint of chocolate

After Steeping:
Scent- Chocolate with an undertone of strawberries
Color- Dark Aubern

Taste:
Nude-Black tea, hint of strawberries, very smooth with a hint of a chocolate after tast
With sugar- Chocolate and black tea, still smoth and a heavy strawberry taste
with cream- Black tea, slight strawberry taste—Lots of flavor
with Cream and sugar- STRAWBERRY!!!! with a slight after taste of chocolate
*prefered nude, there it is light and tasteful

This tea is so aptly named — it smells exactly like how it’s described. The initial scent is rich chocolate overlaid with the bright, luscious sweetness of strawberry. It is sweet and evocative of summer. The puer taste comes out in the steeped tea as an earthy, rich undertone that complements the strawberry and chocolate perfectly.

This tea is really delicious! Thanks Lupicia for the free sample!

I really did not know if I would like this tea but I am a huge fan of pu-erhs. The smell coming from the tea is incredible. I enjoyed mine with a splash of almond milk and that is perfect. I actually think I liked the strawberry element a bit better than the chocolate, but it is a very unique experience.

Trés yummy tea!!! The chocolate on the nose is rich and dark and the strawberry swirls in and completes everything. I save this tea for when I need a chocolatey treat but I’m trying to cut back on the calories because it’s so good even without sugar or other sweetener. Sigh…so good!!