Ancient Shu Pu-erh Tuo Cha

The scent of this Shou Pu-erh is very sweet and reminds me of sweet dried summer grasses and other dried botanicals.

The liquor is very dark, deep brown. The brewed flavor is very mellow and sweet with date and hazelnut notes. There is much more mellow sweetness to this tea at first than earthiness, so it brews very mild and enjoyable. The second steep was a little more dark and earthy with cocoa notes and a lingering sweetness toward the end, less sweet up front. In later steepings there are tobacco and molasses flavors and the sweetness becomes more evident again throughout the cup.

Overall this is a very nice tea. I have been slowly encountering more Rishi teas since I work at a store that sells them and while I haven’t exactly been wowed yet, I am usually pleasantly surprised by the quality.

I enjoyed this tea and like that it is certified fair trade and organic. I compared this tea against two tea cakes (one from longrun and one from a store in China Town D.C.). All three teas were very similar but Rishi is much easier to find at my local Wegmans.
This pu erh steeps very quickly and I only used 1/2 of a Tou Cha. The tea came out a dark red with a earthy taste—pleased overall.

enjoyable each time. makes me savor and reminds me why i love tea

First Pu-Erh I tried, great sweetness on the back end and increases complexity with multiple steeps.

Distinct cup. This pu-erh had a fishy musky aroma to it, almost a sweet smell. The tasting however, was a bit earthy, though it carried a sweet tamarind note. It’s smooth and full-bodied.

Fishy smell, mellow, earthy flavor. Yum yum for the tum tum. You cannot burn this tea.

Deep dark and rich, with undertones of marine flavors. A nice strong brew that makes a perfect alternative to coffee. I like blending it with some Tisano for a chocolate flavor.

Couldn’t really tell much of a difference between the rinse technique and just steeping my first cup straight. Anyone else notice that? Either way, I’m hopelessly addicted to this tea and have been drinking 3 steeps a day out of one cake.

My first puerh, and though it is no longer a favorite, still a very nice, drinkable tea, and a good introdution to puerhs in general.

Still have some left in the cupboard because it’s too good to compost, but I rarely break it out to drink it.

This tea is very smooth and full of earth (black). It is easy to be put off by the fishy, oily aroma but there is a sweetness at the end that rounds out the flavor. The finish has a heavy mouth-feel and the aftertaste is malty.

All in all, I’d rather have a cup of good coffee. I’ve been mixing it with SpecialTeas Almond Cookie with a nice result.