Organic Japanese Puerh

This was good. I steeped it three times, and while the first steep was only alright, the second and third steeps were lovely. Light and sweet with a hint of flowers. I think next time I may rinse it for a little longer and see if that makes a difference in the flavor of the first cup.

Another to try from the Lewis & Clark tea box! Just a little left of this one. I really wanted to try this one as it sounds like a very unique pu-erh. And it is!

Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // few min after boiling // 2 min
The pu-erh leaves are very fine, bordering on CTC size. But it certainly doesn’t get to the bitterness levels of a CTC and the cup doesn’t look as dark as even a larger leafed pu-erh would… the brew is light mahogany. The flavor is very fruity on the first cup, though I can’t tell which: sometimes it seems like blueberries, plums, strawberries. There is hints of cedar as well, but this is the fruitiest pu-erh I’ve ever tried. Surprisingly, it reminds me most of Butiki’s Taiwanese assam.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min
This cup isn’t as special… the fruitiness seems to be mostly gone. I don’t think I should have steeped it this long. It’s still mahogany in color. As it cools, it does taste more like the previous cup but otherwise it is tough to describe. The first cup was lovely though.

Steep #3 // just boiled // 2 min
I tried to tame this one on the third steep to try to get back to the lovely flavors of the first cup, but this time this ended up a bit mild. That is too bad. I know the first cup wasn’t contamination from another tea, since I had a string of plain teas in that infuser. First steep: one of the most unique teas I’ve tried. Other steeps: nothing special.

I didn’t make this according to directions, so I am not going to rate it right now. I did this gongfu style and it didn’t really work for me. It was very crumbly and got stuck in the teapot strainer holes, making it hard to pour. There seemed to be a lot of “dust”.

The flavor didn’t have much of the coffee or chestnut flavors that I saw other people mention. It tasted like green tea to me. I don’t care much for green tea, so I was a little bummed. I’ll try it western style maybe and see how that goes :)

From the Lewis and Clark TTB.

If you ever want an unusual tea to try, put this on your list: a Japanese pu’erh! It’s strange, but the good kind of strange. It smells like whole wheat bread. The liquor full-bodied and thick. Besides sweet earth, there is a black coffee note. It kind of tastes like watered-down coffee – here me out first! – but because of the thick texture it feels wonderful in the mouth. Sticky, yummy aftertaste coffee and then bread sticks an sesame seeds.

I’d never tried a Japanese pu’erh before, so this was something I got sent in a swap. It has a somewhat earthy scent, along with fruit. Maybe… plums. The flavour kinda dark and malty, with some hints of fruit. Since I brewed it in a steeper I’d used for a mint tea, I get some mint as well. Overall, it’s different… but good.

This was a super generous sample from Stacy (I only see now it says it’s not eligible as a sample but she sent me one anyway because I mentioned it, eeek and whoops). Big ups!

I’ve been curious about this one for a while, because I had no idea such a thing was being made at all in Japan. It’s not like other pu erhs I’ve tried (granted, I’m still a newb). It has a rather strong brown rice element, kind of nutty and grainy, with a mildly sour-sweet finish. I can see what they’re getting at when they mention chestnut—there’s a mouthfeel at the end of the sip that has that sort of creamy-grainy texture which, combined with the nutty brown rice flavor, evokes chestnuts, particularly that…I don’t have a good word for it, not quite plasticky but you know…that element chestnuts have other nuts don’t (some people dislike that part, but I love it!). (ETA: I think this is perhaps the same thing Sil is ingeniously describing as “tasting like the texture of a prune”, yes.) Never had a tea quite like this one, where it has a sweetness and cleanness, yes, but it almost feels savory somehow. And the copy’s right; this also mysteriously manages to feel like something to get your motor going like old fashioned gas station coffee, but I can’t quite describe why or how because it doesn’t resemble a brisk black tea at all (something about it reminds me a teensy bit of either the Khongea Assam or the Four Season Oolong though, which both have that deep but specific, “narrow” “blackness” too).

It might just be fanciful notions racing in the head thanks to knowing it’s from Japan (you know how that can be!), but something about this also makes me think of big spreads of Korean or Japanese dishes, pickled and fermented vegetables and a big basket full of steaming rice…salty fish broth…seaweed wrappers and buckwheat noodles. Like I’m in the back room of the Korean restaurant my college TA worked at, smelling steam that smells like all those ingredients that go in those dishes—rice, sesame, fresh clean smelling fish. It’s not that it actually smells or tastes like these things. But somehow it makes me think of those meals and those kitchens. I’m guessing it’s that powerful roasted rice element.

I also think Terri is on the money when she mentions hojicha (and someone else mentioned genmaicha, yes) and sourdough. (I love when other Steepsters are better at IDing things I can taste and smell but can’t shuffle through my mental archives precisely enough to name myself!)

Pouring it from my gongfu glass teapot, I notice the color through the spout is marvelously reddish-pink-tinged, almost like rose wine. Collected in the cup, it’s a bright burnt sienna, reddish-brown umbery tones.

I’m really glad I got to try it. It grows on me the more I sit here. I think it’d be delicious with or after a big Korean or Japanese meal.

So admittedly, I’ve had this for awhile. I had to buy it, but then I never seemed to get around to sampling it. I have no idea why, it just didn’t happen.
The dry aroma is sour, & a little sweet, & brings to mind Umeboshi plums.
The tea itself? I don’t even know where to start! It’s reconstituted plums, it’s tobacco smoke, it hints at oolong/hujicha/coffee/sourdough, with a ‘shiny’ after feel, & an aftertaste that is powdered instant tea, which creeps up into the sinuses & hangs around somewhere in the soft palate. There is more, but I can’t put it into words. It’s very complex.

I got a sample of this with my order-before-last but have been putting off drinking it. I requested different samples but mine must have gotten mixed up with someone else’s. I had this puerh before, having requested a sample last year when my family still lived near by. I brought it over to their house and we all sampled a tiny 2oz cup of the tea. My parents liked it, I remember. I wasn’t too impressed, but I never logged it. having this tea in my cupboard again, I wasn’t motivated to brew it. But today, I decided to give it another try. It isn’t so bad really. I don’t love it, but I like it better than I did the first time. It’s very very different from most (shu) puerh. Not as “heavy” to me. Not has fishy either. A lot of puerh-haters might even like it. It’s still earthy, like fresh soil and also has a sweet fruitiness (other reviews suggest plum or prune. . I guess that could be it). I would definitely drink it again, but probably won’t order it for myself.