Caramel Chai Pu-Erh Tea from Inspired Leaf

caramel-chai-pu-erhTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh

Where to Buy:  Inspired Leaf

Tea Description:

Bold spices and aged tea are mellowed to perfection with smooth caramel.

Inspiration#79 “Age is a state of mind. What’s yours?”

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Yummy!  I like this way better than I expected to.

I mean … let’s look at the name of the tea, shall we:  Caramel – yep, love the stuff.  Chai?  Oh yeah, one of my favorite teas.  Pu-erh?  Um … not so much.

OK, so, I will be the first to admit that over the past few years, I’ve discovered that I actually like Pu-erh.  Most Pu-erh, that is.  But there is always still that lingering doubt.  My first few experiences with Pu-erh really tainted my brain and turned me against Pu-erh, even though most (I’d say at least 96%!) of my Pu-erh experiences since those first few have been positive experiences.  But those first few have set some sort of unbreakable alarm that sounds off every time I see the word Pu-erh (or any variation on the spelling).

So, I’m always just a wee bit hesitant when it comes to trying Pu-erh.

So, I didn’t expect to love this Caramel Chai Pu-erh the way that I’m loving it.

Since this is a blend rather than a pure leaf Pu-erh, I used my Kati Tumbler to brew it.  I added about 1 ½ bamboo scoops of leaf to the basket of the tumbler and filled the tumbler with water heated to 190°F.  I then waited 20 seconds and tossed out the liquid (a rinse!) and then I filled the tumbler with another 12 ounces of 190°F water and steeped it for 1 minute.  The result is a lovely caramel-y chai!

The base tea is a Pu-erh, but I’m not getting any brine-y, fishy or overly earthy notes from it.  I taste lovely spice notes from the ‘chai’ – notes of cinnamon and clove and ginger!  The nutmeg is a little less obvious but I don’t think this blend would taste the same without it.  The spices aren’t “spicy” but warm and comforting.  The earthiness of these spices melds with the earthy notes of the Pu-erh and the result is a very smooth flavor that you’ll want to curl up to.

The Pu-erh is very rich and mellow.  The sweet caramel tones of the Pu-erh accent the caramel flavoring to make a really lusciously sweet, dessert-y kind of flavor.

This is a very autumnal taste:  cozy, rich, warm and decadent.

I’d recommend this to anyone who doesn’t like pu-erh because of the strong earthy tones or that fishy-briny taste.  This tea doesn’t taste like that at all!  I believe you’ll be very pleased with the flavors!

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