Pu-erh newbie - recommendations sought

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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Jan 3rd, '07, 18:37
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by hop_goblin » Jan 3rd, '07, 18:37

jogrebe wrote:
hop_goblin wrote: I have already purchased the book and have read it cover to cover. The english is pretty bad at times and half the book is just pictures of Pu-erh teas with no descriptions. That was the most disappointing part. However, does have some interesting pictures and tid bits!
True but in terms of books about puerh I'm sure it is a huge step in the right direction. I have several other books about tea and only one of them even makes a mention of puerh and it doesn't even get an entire page in a book that is over 100 pages.
Good point! There are a good selection of books about Pu-erh teas, however, they are in chinese! LOL

Jan 3rd, '07, 23:59
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by lenny7 » Jan 3rd, '07, 23:59

jogrebe wrote:
lenny7 wrote:Have you tried any of the pu-erh at Indigo Tea in Burnsville? If so, is any of it even close? They list three kinds here. I'm heading there today or tomorrow any will probably try some.
Yes I had them around a year ago. The Tuo Cha was the best than the other two and the organic one was the worse.
I stopped by Indigo Tea last Sunday and ordered a mug of the Tuo Cha. I don't think too many folks order it as the owner seemed pleasantly surprised when I did. I just ordered a mug of it but he told me that it would enough flavor for a whole pot. I nodded in the affirmative, expecting to pay for a pot, but he only charged me for a mug (which was $1.95, not the amount I earlier mentioned.). Not only that but he said I could get another great infusion out of it so he told me to come back up when I finished the first pot and he'd add water for a second pot, no extra charge. Ya gotta love that attitude. It paid off for him though, after I bought $30 worth of tea there.

I had read about many infusions when drinking puerh and was surprised when he told me how he did it. He broke the tuo cha in half, then started with a quick rinse with boiling water, followed by a 3 minute steep. For the second infusion he suggested 1 to 2 minutes.

Now I'm certainly not in any position to offer a review of the tea, considering this was my first puerh, but I can give my impressions.

My first impression was, "whoa...this is some funky stuff", and I didn't think that in a good way. It was a little pungent, a little off-smelling. I can't even describe the flavor. The second cup left me with the impression that, "I guess this isn't so bad, but one pot will be enough". By the third and final cup of the pot I was to the point of "Wow, this is starting to get pretty good" and I eagerly refilled the pot for the second infusion. The second pot wasn't quite as good as the first, losing some of the potency of the flavor, but still quite enjoyable.

The owner seemed to really enjoy talking to me about the pu-erh teas and the tuo chas and about the prevalence of counterfeit pu-erhs out there and how he thinks the price is a bit too high right now, and how wayback when they'd string the tuo cha's on string and use them as currency.

They sell the tuo cha's for 50¢ a tuo cha or $6.25 for 4 oz, which came out to 27 tuo's in the 4 oz I bought.

I look forward to comparing this with others I get a chance to try.

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Jan 4th, '07, 00:28
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by jogrebe » Jan 4th, '07, 00:28

lenny7 wrote:
jogrebe wrote:
lenny7 wrote:Have you tried any of the pu-erh at Indigo Tea in Burnsville? If so, is any of it even close? They list three kinds here. I'm heading there today or tomorrow any will probably try some.
Yes I had them around a year ago. The Tuo Cha was the best than the other two and the organic one was the worse.
I stopped by Indigo Tea last Sunday and ordered a mug of the Tuo Cha. I don't think too many folks order it as the owner seemed pleasantly surprised when I did. I just ordered a mug of it but he told me that it would enough flavor for a whole pot. I nodded in the affirmative, expecting to pay for a pot, but he only charged me for a mug (which was $1.95, not the amount I earlier mentioned.). Not only that but he said I could get another great infusion out of it so he told me to come back up when I finished the first pot and he'd add water for a second pot, no extra charge. Ya gotta love that attitude. It paid off for him though, after I bought $30 worth of tea there.

I had read about many infusions when drinking puerh and was surprised when he told me how he did it. He broke the tuo cha in half, then started with a quick rinse with boiling water, followed by a 3 minute steep. For the second infusion he suggested 1 to 2 minutes.

Now I'm certainly not in any position to offer a review of the tea, considering this was my first puerh, but I can give my impressions.

My first impression was, "whoa...this is some funky stuff", and I didn't think that in a good way. It was a little pungent, a little off-smelling. I can't even describe the flavor. The second cup left me with the impression that, "I guess this isn't so bad, but one pot will be enough". By the third and final cup of the pot I was to the point of "Wow, this is starting to get pretty good" and I eagerly refilled the pot for the second infusion. The second pot wasn't quite as good as the first, losing some of the potency of the flavor, but still quite enjoyable.

The owner seemed to really enjoy talking to me about the pu-erh teas and the tuo chas and about the prevalence of counterfeit pu-erhs out there and how he thinks the price is a bit too high right now, and how wayback when they'd string the tuo cha's on string and use them as currency.

They sell the tuo cha's for 50¢ a tuo cha or $6.25 for 4 oz, which came out to 27 tuo's in the 4 oz I bought.

I look forward to comparing this with others I get a chance to try.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Yeah puerh is different from other types of tea. Also as a cheaper and faster way to try different types of puerh there are always tea trades which are especially common among puerh drinkers from all the different types that are out there.
Last edited by jogrebe on Jan 4th, '07, 01:14, edited 1 time in total.

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Jan 4th, '07, 01:07
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by hop_goblin » Jan 4th, '07, 01:07

lenny7 wrote:
jogrebe wrote:
lenny7 wrote:Have you tried any of the pu-erh at Indigo Tea in Burnsville? If so, is any of it even close? They list three kinds here. I'm heading there today or tomorrow any will probably try some.

I look forward to comparing this with others I get a chance to try.
Hey Lenny! Good for you! I am happy you went into it with an open mind. Pu-erh is a wonderful and very mysterious tea. For most beginers their "virgin cup" usually has mixed feelings. Like you had stated, some don't really know how to react. My first experience was similar. I tasted it the first time and put my cup down not knowing what to think. But then suddenly, I wanted another taste and then another. I began to equate the taste of pu-erh to the smells of spring and other organic essences. It really made me feel as if I were part of the whole oranice life structure. It connected me to nature so to speak. I closed my eyes to see if I could distinguish the camphor and floral hints that lovers of pu-erh die to taste and smell. I DID! From then on I was hooked!

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Jan 28th, '07, 04:08
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Go with Rishi

by Space Samurai » Jan 28th, '07, 04:08

I have to recomend the pu erh's from Rishi, particularly the tuo cha or maiden pu erh. Both teas have a thick, velvety finish, and the tuo cha can cost about .25-.50 a cup, very affordable, and you can resteep the leaves at least three times and still get a great cup. Also, these teas our organic and Fair Trade Certified.

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Jan 30th, '07, 10:20
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by bearsbearsbears » Jan 30th, '07, 10:20

hop_goblin wrote:I tasted it the first time and put my cup down not knowing what to think. But then suddenly, I wanted another taste and then another. I began to equate the taste of pu-erh to the smells of spring and other organic essences. It really made me feel as if I were part of the whole oranice life structure. It connected me to nature so to speak.
Awesome experience! Sounds like you'd be fun to drink tea with. Pu'er is prized by many for its ability to bring out feelings like this in people...I started in tea for the flavor, but find myself turning more and more to the tea for a whole experience of flavor, physical feelings, and the connection to nature. good to hear the echo of similar feelings from another. 8)

Feb 12th, '08, 18:30
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by inspectoring » Feb 12th, '08, 18:30

Al wrote:Just out of curiosity, having looked at the Rishi link, are the green tuo-cha's something you can drink right away? I'm somewhat confused.
I have tried my first pureh from them - the ancient green tuo-cha. As it was my first pureh - I have to admit - the remaining 6 oz are sitting in a closet for the past 11 months (i think).
Pureh has a strong taste..and unfortunately my palate can't get the sweet taste from that..so as a result I just gave up on it...

Feb 12th, '08, 21:06
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Try This

by teajock » Feb 12th, '08, 21:06

Okay, I'll give myself a bit of a shameless plug here, but you may want to give the "Fruity Pu Pu Platter" a try. Though I rather like Pu Ehr Dante, this one is brightened up considerably by the addition of Strawberries & Raspberries. It tends to lose the earthiness a bit.

If you're not into fruity teas though, this'll just be a doubly bad one for you.

That said, the Pu Ehrs have to grow on you a bit. Once they do, the health benefits start to show, and you'll be happy you stuck with it.

-Chris

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