Taste of pu erh

[wng]

I have tried several pu erhs and a lot of them taste and smell like old abandoned buildings and smoked fish I have found 2 so far that I liked but the rest were unbearable did I just have bad luck or is this normal here is what I tried so far and what I thought of them. any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. thank you

puershop (2003 Golden Sail Brand Yunnan Pu-erh Tuocha) this was the worst
specialteas (591 China Pu Erh Bold Leaf, Organic) just slightly better but still terrible
specialteas(590 China Pu Erh Tuo Cha (Birds Nest) bad also
puershop (2009 Rongzhen Super Grade) I liked this one, no smoked fish or mildew
puershop (2007 Organic Menghai Banzhang Old Tree) also good, but I liked the Rongzhen better
puershop (2009 Organic Jingmai Wild Arbor) smoky grass I didnt like it
puershop (2008 American Hao 0802) smoked fish grass and mushrooms

[TomVerlain]

One of the great posts of the decade is:

"Some Russians say about Ripe Pu
by banzhang » Jan 17th, '10, 09:29
Friend of mine work in a tea shop in russia.
This is what he said to me:
"Russians say that ripe pu smells like fish, like wood, like
earth, we had even one customer, he screamed that we sold 'em socks,
that whole china had worn.."

Pu'erh does have a certain unique taste that some do not like. However, brewed wrong, many teas taste terrible.

Start by steeping for 0 seconds and work your way up. Young sheng gets bitter very quickly. You might even pour down the drain the first 3 infusions to get a much lighter taste. A nice pu'erh after many infusions is "sweet water" to me.

[debunix]

You don't indicate in your posts if these were shu/ripe/cooked or sheng/raw puerhs. A nice shu may be a better introduction to puerh than a poor or young sheng, because they're milder and more tolerant of variations in brewing technique. I've been seriously exploring puerhs for just over a year now, and some were friendly and nice from the first brewing, and others took a bit of experimenting to find a tasty way to prepare them.

Most puerh fans advise avoiding tuo cha, because they tend to be made with lower quality leaves. Rishi's 'ancient trees' tuo cha happened to be the first puerh that I tried, and I liked it enough to keep exploring puerhs further: this particular tea is so mellow that on a few rushed occasions I dropped a tablet into my thermos, added a quart of hot water, and drank a quite tolerable brew several hours later.

[wng]

I did like 2 of them. I don't see how the style of brewing could produce fish taste. Is the fish taste typical? The two I liked didn't have the fish, mildew or smoke, There must be more like this, no? The fish taste in some tea is very offensive to me (odd because I really like fish) the mildew old building taste is nasty. The smoke I don't mind so much, its just gross in combination with the other two flavors/smells.

[wng]

You don't indicate in your posts if these were shu/ripe/cooked or sheng/raw puerhs.

the last 2 were sheng the others wer shu

Most puerh fans advise avoiding tuo cha, because they tend to be made with lower quality leaves.

the worst of the bunch was a tuo cha

[TomVerlain]

some tea is just crap.

Smoke is young sheng. a little goes a long way with that, though I like a little of the smokey flavor in young sheng.

A nice beeng of real Dayi Menghai shu is not that expensive. I like the 7262. there are vendors usa based that have this and others like it in stock. Or, Yunnan Sourcing or Dragon Tea House (china based), if you can wait. Houdeasianart.com is US based, and has higher grade tea.

[wng]

I'll try the 7262. just out of curiosity, are the fish and mildew considered normal or considered bad characteristics for a tea to have. I am just wondering is it, that I got tea what wasn't good, or if its just a personal preference thing?

[gingkoseto]

puershop (2003 Golden Sail Brand Yunnan Pu-erh Tuocha) this was the worst
specialteas

I happened to have tasted this one (something like that, I am not sure of the year) with a friend who got it from puerh shop. And I like it. Well I am not a big fan of shu puerh over all, but this is a shu puerh that I relatively like. It's Guangdong style shu puerh, slightly different from native Yunnan style. People always have very different taste preferences I believe.

[hop_goblin]

unfortnately, I have to say that what you are sampling is for the lack of a better word is essentially crap. Need to have someone with a bit of knowledge pick some better teas for you.

[wng]

I happened to have tasted this one (something like that, I am not sure of the year) with a friend who got it from puerh shop. And I like it. Well I am not a big fan of shu puerh over all, but this is a shu puerh that I relatively like. It's Guangdong style shu puerh, slightly different from native Yunnan style. People always have very different taste preferences I believe.

The one I had seemed to be almost completely decomposed, almost soil. it smelled exactly like an old abandoned building, mixed with an old ladys house, and smoked fish (cheap stuff too not good lox) The taste was consistent with the smell but with the addition of dirt. the dirt and smoke were not a problem but the rest of the flavors and smells I could do without. When I broke it up there were chunks of whitish stuff in the tea that looked like chunks of broken drywall. The two shu cakes I tried were much less decomposed and cleaner looking.

[wng]

unfortnately, I have to say that what you are sampling is for the lack of a better word is essentially crap. Need to have someone with a bit of knowledge pick some better teas for you.

This was my main concern. If you have any recommendations I would really appreciate them. thanks

[tingjunkie]

For an excellent inexpensive shu, I'm a very big fan of Menghai's 2007 Golden Needle White Lotus.

There is a very slight fishy smell to this, but it's not there in the taste. Let's put it this way- I absolutely hate fish, seaweed, or any seafood, and can taste the tiniest bit of fish oil used in a dish, and this tea doesn't turn me off at all.

[entropyembrace]

I happened to have tasted this one (something like that, I am not sure of the year) with a friend who got it from puerh shop. And I like it. Well I am not a big fan of shu puerh over all, but this is a shu puerh that I relatively like. It's Guangdong style shu puerh, slightly different from native Yunnan style. People always have very different taste preferences I believe.

The one I had seemed to be almost completely decomposed, almost soil. it smelled exactly like an old abandoned building, mixed with an old ladys house, and smoked fish (cheap stuff too not good lox) The taste was consistent with the smell but with the addition of dirt. the dirt and smoke were not a problem but the rest of the flavors and smells I could do without. When I broke it up there were chunks of whitish stuff in the tea that looked like chunks of broken drywall. The two shu cakes I tried were much less decomposed and cleaner looking.

I would throw tea that looked like that to the trash

[silverneedles]

I happened to have tasted this one (something like that, I am not sure of the year) with a friend who got it from puerh shop. And I like it. Well I am not a big fan of shu puerh over all, but this is a shu puerh that I relatively like. It's Guangdong style shu puerh, slightly different from native Yunnan style. People always have very different taste preferences I believe.

The one I had seemed to be almost completely decomposed, almost soil. it smelled exactly like an old abandoned building, mixed with an old ladys house, and smoked fish (cheap stuff too not good lox) The taste was consistent with the smell but with the addition of dirt. the dirt and smoke were not a problem but the rest of the flavors and smells I could do without. When I broke it up there were chunks of whitish stuff in the tea that looked like chunks of broken drywall. The two shu cakes I tried were much less decomposed and cleaner looking.

... sounds... uhm ... delicious ... like stinky toe jam french cheese

[wng]

For an excellent inexpensive shu, I'm a very big fan of Menghai's 2007 Golden Needle White Lotus.

There is a very slight fishy smell to this, but it's not there in the taste. Let's put it this way- I absolutely hate fish, seaweed, or any seafood, and can taste the tiniest bit of fish oil used in a dish, and this tea doesn't turn me off at all.

I'll try that one too. jas-etea has it, and that way I can just buy a sample and have it quick. I'm not ready to put an order from YS until I know what I like and what I don't

I would throw tea that looked like that to the trash

thats what i did right after spitting it in the sink

... sounds... uhm ... delicious ... like stinky toe jam french cheese

I wish it was like stinky cheese. I love that.