I don’t actually have much experience drinking Pu-erh, but it has been on my to-do list for awhile. Drink more Pu-erh Check! Thanks one last time to Angel at TeaVivre for providing me with this sample and helping me to check one item off my to-do list.
I began with a very fast rinse before moving on to the first steep. The first steep is not nearly as dark as I normally associate with Pu-erh. This is the first time that I’ve used a Gaiwan so I am sure the color will darken on successive steeps. The tea has a very light mellow earthy taste, but is not nearly as strong as my previous experience with pu-erh.
With the second and third steep the tea continues to darken in color and the flavor becomes more bold. The third steep is when the tuocha completely broke apart. As I continued on with steeps 4, 5, and 6 I was surprised that although the color continued to darken, the flavor remained very similar. It is very possible that I could have gone past 6 steeps, however, I had unexpected (but very welcome) company today and one of the kids thought my pu-erh looked yummy tasting.
The flavor of this tea is very mellow and doesn’t have the depth of other Pu-erh that I have had, which is why I think it is perfect for someone just starting out with Pu-erh. I find that the less complex teas are a great place to start. I do wish that the rose flavor would have been present, I didn’t taste it at all once the tea steeped.
