TeaChat

Hello All!

I am trying to introduce myself to Pu-erh tea, so far the samples I've tried have been unappealing in both aroma and taste - most have reminded me a of mushrooms.. (is this normal? lol!!)

HOWEVER! I have still been trying to find different types to try in the hope I can adapt!

I came across these little mini tea cakes from Dragon Tea House on ebay, apparently they have all different types and vintages, so I think I may find at least one I like, I'm not a huge fan of some, but they're definately nicer than everything I've tried beforehand

Just thought I'd share!!



Does anyone else have a source for mini pu cakes or samples? I'd love to get my hands on some more to try, perhaps with a little chart of whats what (no such luxury with this lot!)

Hope you're all having a lovely day

~Hannah

For the mushroom flavor, do you mean a literal flavor of mushrooms, like a mushroom soup? Or a moldy/musty flavor? Or an earthy flavor? (which some associate with the smell of mushrooms). If it is a musty or moldy flavor, it is possible that the tea might not have been properly stored or was slightly rotten. If it is an earthy flavor, that is a flavor that frequently shows up in the puer rainbow, often in shu (cooked) cakes.

If you want to get into higher quality puer, I would recommend you go towards samples, rather than the small tuo cakes that you have shown in your pic. Mini cakes like these rarely showcase anything memorable, and the tea is often crap. Better to get samples chunks from larger cakes or bricks. Yunnan Sourcing sells samples of many high quality teas. I have not purchased from them personally, but I have seen many people recommend them and I am familiar with several of the teas they source. I recommend that you buy a few samples of teas that intrigue you and see what you like. After you find a tea you like, you can buy a full cake and explore it more intimately.

Thanks so much for the advice!!! One sample in particular (not from these) was literally a mushroom taste but these ones are more musty... I'll be sure to check out Yunnan Sourcing!!

I bought these mini cakes too, and a 12oz cake from Amazon because I wanted it ASAP to try out Pu Erh teas... I hope they're not crap.