Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Tea Description:
This Golden Buds Puerh Cake made in 2005 is the high-end products from Fengqing Sanning Tea Company. There’re plenty of highest quality tender buds with white tips. The buds which turned to be golden color after fermentation were combined with other levels Puerh maocha which contain much flavor content so that this Puerh cake has the characteristics of pure aroma, mellow taste and quick sweet aftertaste. This puerh cake is produced in Fengqing, Yunan. Fengqing is the original place of the world-wide famous Dian Hong Tea. And it is also a classic place of Yunnan Pu-erh. It is a place in Lingcang which is one of the four famous Pu-erh production areas. It can be said that this Puerh cake is the most representative and highest quality one. It is quite good for the Puerh enthusiast who has much experience of drinking Puerh tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little hesitant with this Pu-erh, because the aroma of the dry leaf is very earthy. And the fragrance doesn’t soften all that much once it’s brewed either … so I was a little scared, to tell the truth. It’s that strong earthy flavor that I am usually puts me off when it comes to Pu-erh, but I remained hopeful and decided to give it a shot! And I’m glad that I did. This Fengqing Golden Buds Ripened Pu-erh Cake Tea 2005 from Teavivre is really quite nice!
The flavor is not nearly as earthy as the aroma suggests. Yes, there are earthy tones, but they’re really quite mild, and evocative of a mushroom-y kind of taste rather than of peat or other less-than-appealing earthy tastes. It also has a really delightful sweetness to it, that reminds me of a cross between molasses and caramel. Nice!
I also taste notes of flower in the background, and these flavors seem to develop as I continue to sip. It never becomes a really strong, pronounced flavor, but, I like how this note sort of teases the palate.
I brewed this Pu-erh the way I usually would, with a quick 15 second rinse, and brewing the first infusion at just 30 seconds, and 45 seconds for the second. The first two infusions were then combined into one cup, and it created a surprisingly dark brew! Darker than most black teas that would be brewed for 3 minutes or more! And like most other Pu-erh, this one is good for many more infusions, I spent all afternoon with this tea and it was a delightful experience.
The flavor is rich and complex yet delightfully mellow, and I appreciated that the earthy tones were much more subdued than the aroma suggested to me. While it does possess some of the flavors that I would expect from a Pu-erh, I found myself happily surprised by this one. If you are one who appreciates a really lovely, lightly earthy Pu-erh – one that’s sweet and pleasantly floral! – this is one you should put on your MUST TRY list!
Mad Tea Party from Indie Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Indie Tea
Tea Description:
Steeping Steeping Little Pot, How I Love You Quite A Lot, Chocolate, Chiles, Cherries Too, Make A Tasty Pu-Erh Brew!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I didn’t read the description of this Mad Party tea from Indie Tea before I brewed it, and by a quick look at the leaves, I figured it was a black tea blend … not a pu-erh! Had I known it was pu-erh, I probably would have done a quick pre-rinse, but, as it is, this is really quite enjoyable … even without the pre-rinse. The aroma is quite earthy, the flavor is not quite as earthy … which is usually why I like to pre-rinse my pu-erh anyway … to rinse away some of the earthy flavor.
The first couple of sips – sipped while still fresh from the teapot hot – were earthy … and tasted of strong pu-erh. After the cup cooled slightly, the flavors of chocolate, cherry and chili began to pop. I noticed a hint of smokiness to the cup. The pu-erh base is rich and mellow, and allows the flavors to express themselves in a really delicious way.
The chocolate tastes rich and smooth … the cherry has a sweet yet tart taste to it, and the chili … while spicy … doesn’t attempt to offend the tastebuds by overwhelming them with heat. It’s a gentle heat … and it slowly builds as I continue to sip. But even now, as I pass the halfway point of my cup … the heat is still quite subtle and really very lovely. The back of the throat feels warm without feeling assaulted by chipotle chili.
The chocolate is the real star of this cup … and I suspect this has a lot to do with the pu-erh base as well, because the chocolate really seems to come alive in the presence of the pu-erh. It’s really quite enjoyable.
Really yummy. This is a pu-erh I’d consider keeping on hand … I like the heat level, I love the chocolate-y tones, I love that it is a little earthy and smoky but it never goes overboard on these two tastes. I love the way the sweet-tart notes of the cherry come through … again, subtly … and really beautifully.
Two thumbs up on this one.
Another Verdant Tea Giveaway!
Hello Everyone!
This is not a giveaway that we are hosting, but, since the Verdant Tea giveaway last week was so immensely popular, I thought I’d let you in on another giveaway that Verdant Tea is hosting themselves! This is a great opportunity for those of you who still want that taste of Verdant Tea!
Here is a copy/paste of what David from Verdant Tea sent to me:
By the way, we are starting a giveaway today for the last ounce of our 1996 Mengku Sheng Pu’er. If anyone who doesn’t win the Tea of the Month subscription wants to participate, it is another chance to try Verdant Tea. Here is the product page for that Mengku: http://verdanttea.com/teas/1996-wild-picked-mengku-sheng-puer/ And here is the link to the giveaway: http://verdanttea.com/giveaway/
This was sent to me this past Friday, so, the giveaway has only been going on for a few days.
Best of luck to you! And don’t forget, we have a different giveaway going on every week during our Season of Giveaways! How long will this season last? I don’t know for sure, but it’s going to be a very happy, generous season, indeed!
Four Leaves Ripe Pu’er from Mandala Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu’er
Where to Buy: Mandala Tea
Tea Description:
We are proud to offer our very own blend of ripe pu’er tea! We (and our customers) are very happy with the finished product. While we love this tea now, we can hardly wait to see what 2 or 3 more years of aging will bring to the flavor of this tea!
Also available in a 250gram cake!
The four leaves used in our ripe tea are from the Jinggu Tea Factory in Simao. The Jinggu tea factory used to be part of the CNNP state-owned tea factories. They started fermenting Pu’er in the mid-70’s and was the third factory ever to produce ripe pu’er!
The leaf used was spring picked and processed in 2009 and is quite ready for enjoying now. We chose the material and pressed the blend in April of 2010.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One thing I love about Mandala, other than their excellent quality of tea, is their 5.00 shipping! Its just something note worthy as I know when I am considering trying a new tea company their shipping rates do matter. Also Garret at Mandala is one of the most guanine people I have ever spoken with. He takes time with people. That is something we need more of these days.
Four Leaves Ripe Pu’er is a loose leaf pu’er which for those of you starting your pu’er journey may find a little less intimidating. However you can also get it in a cake as well, which is a condensed version of the tea. Steeping instructions are right on the packaging.
I always give my pu’er an initial rise, okay not always but most always anyway. With this tea I did do an initial rinse.
The initial aromas from this tea when steeped are fruity, and leather. There is a sweetness lurking behind these initial aroma notes.
This tea has a crisp bright mouthful, which surprised me as I was expecting something more rich and earthier from the aroma of leather. The flavor of leather is there but the sip is thinner than I anticipated, thin but not lacking flavor!
The sweet berry note is also noticeable.
One note that jumped out at me that took me completely by surprise was a buttered toast flavor! I swoon at anything buttery!
Now don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely an earthy tea, pu’er as a rule is earthy but the other notes bring forth a delightful cheery cup.
I really feel this would make for a good starer pu’er although maybe not a for your very first pu’er. This would be like a level 2 pu’er. Perhaps starting with something flavored first then working up to this.
On the flip side it is not as complex or mature as many pu’er so for the more advanced pu’er drinkers this may not be as exciting.
There is room for growth in this tea but it is young and as much time yet to develop. It does however have a wonderful starting point and if you are one to buy and store pu’er for later drinking I would absolutely recommend grabbing a cake of this!
Mint-Chilla Chai-Nilla from The Spice and Tea Exchange
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Puerh, Chai
Where to Buy: The Spice and Tea Exchange
Tea Description:
An organic pu-erh chai tea with creamy vanilla and bright peppermint. A rich, smooth tea that adds a refreshing twist to the traditional chai tea flavors. Moderate caffeine. Contains: green pu-erh tea, vanilla, peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, licorice root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I received this from a fellow Steepster and I was totally not expecting to! When you wake up to a nice box of unexpected samples from a friend – that is the best day ever! This tea was included in that box. I have never sampled anything from The Spice and Tea Exchange before that I can recall so I grabbed this right away to try! The name of this tea also got me, with its quirkiness.
The puerh base here may not be the most complex out there by any means but it does provide a nice bold backdrop for the other flavors and is strong enough on its own not to let strong flavors like mint, for example, take over.
The puerh has a leather aspect to it, and a slight sandalwood note. A very nice puerh to use in a blend. I would not want to see a highly prized puerh used in a blend personally, yet I also want one with enough character to give the backdrop a good blend deserves and I feel that The Spice and Tea Exchanged selected a good base for this blend.
The vanilla is noticeable and the spices are quite lovely. Nothing tries to take over here. There is a wonderful mint lift which still allows the vanilla to have its time in the sun. Something of an after dinner mint flavor is what I am getting. You know those Chocolate Andes mints in the green wrapper? Yup that kind of mint flavor, so good! Now I am not saying that this tea tastes all that chocolaty but the spices and puerh tend to lead it in that direction just a little.
On the spices, they are lovely! I am not one for licorice or anise in any amount by nature although there are a few blends out there that have surprised me – this is one of those blends. I feel that The Spice and Tea Exchange has captured the best elements of a chai and added the fun vanilla and mint aspects very well all in a really solid puerh base.
I have had three very successful steeps from these leaves and am going on steep four.
This tea does make me want to check out The Spice and Tea Exchange website now and see what other teas they have to offer. I can also order my spices and herbs there as well. That is a bonus! It is always nice to try a new company and enjoy the cup, even more surprising when it is not a blend I would choose for myself yet I still enjoy it. That leaves a great first impression!