?'s re:My first Pu Erh

[Squeezle]

I went to a oriental market this weekend looking for tea/teaware. All the tea I found was of course in chinese or another language and the clerk didnt seem willing to help me pick out any. I asked her for gunpowder and she had no clue, anyways I grabbed a green box that read Yunnan Tuocha sheng xia guan cha chang chupin and thinking it was yunnan tea but found out after bringing it home its Pu erh. What I gather on the slim information I read online is, its a cheap tea, raw pu erh, and is good for high colesterol. I have no idea how to brew this, its a nest/bowl form. Do I just chunk off a piece like the size of a teaspoon? Its very dark brown looking, not much smell to it. How long do I brew? I like to make a cup of tea at a time not a teapot. Any help would be appreciated, since Ive never tried pu erh before.

[tingjunkie]

You may be in for a surprise!

Raw puer tea (also called sheng) is usually better after a decade or more of aging. Although there are many fans of unaged raw puer (what you have) here, it can often be a bitter brew to those who have not yet acquired the taste.

It's hard to give you a recommendation of how to brew until I know what equipment you are using. If you are just brewing in a 6-8oz mug, then I would suggest prying off about a teaspoon + of leaf with an ice pick (or similarly shaped object), use boiling water, and steep for around 3 minutes. Adjust the time from there according to your tastes.

There is a lot of excellent puer out there (both raw and cooked), and a lot of really bad pu as well. Don't be turned off to the whole genre if this stuff you randomly picked off the shelf is not very good. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[MarshalN]

This is cooked puerh, if it's dark brown. Sheng in this case is province, not raw.

You basically break off a chunk and brew. It's going to get ugly -- lots of powder, etc, when you try to break it, if it's the first time you're doing it. I'd recommend one of those tea-sacs or other filter things so you don't get a cup full of tea powder.

[tingjunkie]

Ok, if it's cooked (shu) then you have much more leeway on the brewing parameters. Shu is much more forgiving than young sheng.

[Squeezle]

Well, whatever I purchased I must say....its not bad, not bad at all!! For 2 dollars for a 100g nest I think I did ok. I chisel'd off a teaspoon amount, did a quick swirl and rinse in boiling water, then did a 15 second infuse...liquor was light reddish brown that tasted like a yunnan, full mouth feel/buttery, not atringent/bitter at all,void of any fishy smell, but a slight vegtal hint.second infuse was even better, a more rounded full bodied brew that reminded me of a golden monkey overbrewed, third infusion was weak and flavorless ..all in all nothing foul or a turn off.I wouldnt necessarly purchase this again because of nothing distinct about it but for a very inexpensive pu erh for someone starting out it was a positive experience.I appreciate all the help fellas and encouragement, its not easy for an old lady to explore a tea that looked like someone had stashed it in their sock drawer for a year..heh.

[jktea]

Yunnan Tuocha sheng xia guan cha chang

, I think the right position is Yunnan Sheng Tuocha Xia Guan Cha Chang. It is the ripe Pu Er, not the green Pu Er, from its color and tag.

USD2 for a 100g Xia Guan Pu Er Tea? Even the 2009 Xiaguan Pu Er, even in China, you can not buy at such a competitive price, let alone in US? No offence, probably you need to check whether it is the real product from Xiaguan tea factory. Or you can attach the pictures here, so that we can help you to identify.

For brewing ripe Pu Er, normally we will use a Gaiwan, a filter to strain the broken leaves; We will use a Pu Er opener to break the cakes, so that we can get a whole chunk, not the broken tea powders. Normally for ripe Pu Er, we will rinse it at least twice before drinking the tea liquid, to get rid of those dust or something. Anyway, brewing ripe Pu Er is much simple than green Pu Er.

[jackdaniel]

From what I've read it's not common for a first-timer to like puerh. Consider yourself "enlightened." Welcome to the club!

[Squeezle]

Here are pictures I took of my tea,wrapper and container, perhaps this can identify exactly what kind of pu Erh I have.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/alb ... and-garden

[apache]

That's interesting, the box is Xiaguan, but the wrapper is Dayi. Also, the neifei (inner ticket) is in a rather unusual place. This raises a lot of questions?

[Squeezle]

So you think my Pu Erh might be fake? Should I not drink it then?

[entropyembrace]

As long as it´s not moudly and doesn´t have a strange chemical taste it should be fine... ´fake´ just means it isn´t from the factory of the brand name it´s labeled as but it can still be okay to drink.

If you had paid a lot of money for it then it would be worth getting upset about but for $2 don´t worry about it if the tea tastes fine

[apache]

I didn't realize you only paid two dollars for that, if the tea tastes o.k., then it is fine even if it is not from Xiaguan or Dayi.