Having read so much about pu-erh teas, I recently tried some. I popped in at a local Whole Foods and noticed they had a "Pu-erh Classic" loose-leaf bulk pu-erh from Rishi teas available and I figured I'd try that as I could buy just a little to see if I liked it.
While I'm sure this is not the greatest way to get introduced to pu-erhs (as, based on price alone, this is obviously not "high grade" pu-erh), I must say that I found the taste to be amazing! Having read all of the strange descriptions I found myself agreeing...it DOES taste like a wet basment or water off the forest floor...it really DOES taste like earth and decay...but truly in a GOOD way!
One question: How many times can you re-steep the pu-erh leaves? I am brewing mine 7 oz at a time.
Anyway, not to ramble...just wanted to share my first experience with you folks.
hi
welcome to the wacky world of pu
A good rule of thumb is to keep brewing it until there is nothing left, or you no longer want more tea.
For 7 oz, that equals about 200 ml, so 7 grams of tea would be a good start.
If it is "shou" (called "cooked"), it would tend to brew very dark, very quickly.
If it is "sheng" (called green or raw), it most likely would brew a light amber or yellowish, unless it has aged quite a bit, and become expensive.
I like to brew short infusions, let's say 15 seconds to start. I find shou gives up after 5-6 infusions. I sometime let it sit for a long time, 20 minutes or so, for the last infusion.
Make sure to quickly pour off the first infusions. Though it seems like wasting tea, it is recommended to "wash" the leaves, then let them sit for a little bit to open up, before the water is added again for the cup to drink.
There is lots of information here in this little group, I'm sure just by reading some random post you will pick up alot.
welcome to the wacky world of pu
A good rule of thumb is to keep brewing it until there is nothing left, or you no longer want more tea.
For 7 oz, that equals about 200 ml, so 7 grams of tea would be a good start.
If it is "shou" (called "cooked"), it would tend to brew very dark, very quickly.
If it is "sheng" (called green or raw), it most likely would brew a light amber or yellowish, unless it has aged quite a bit, and become expensive.
I like to brew short infusions, let's say 15 seconds to start. I find shou gives up after 5-6 infusions. I sometime let it sit for a long time, 20 minutes or so, for the last infusion.
Make sure to quickly pour off the first infusions. Though it seems like wasting tea, it is recommended to "wash" the leaves, then let them sit for a little bit to open up, before the water is added again for the cup to drink.
There is lots of information here in this little group, I'm sure just by reading some random post you will pick up alot.
Jul 23rd, '08, 09:30
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It depeneds on the quality of the tea. Generally steep it until the color becomes thin. In the case of shu a good quality shu would be able to be steeped for 7 times or more. But this is a ball park.
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Jul 23rd, '08, 12:25
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Jul 28th, '08, 22:10
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Re: Brand new to the world of Pu-erh...
I couldn't help but notice how well shaved you are.michaelskar wrote:Having read so much about pu-erh teas, I recently tried some. I popped in at a local Whole Foods and noticed they had a "Pu-erh Classic" loose-leaf bulk pu-erh from Rishi teas available and I figured I'd try that as I could buy just a little to see if I liked it.
