We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“Today I am drinking the nest shaped tuocha! There was only one in my bag, most of them were the little rectangular cubes. It is even smoother than the cube! I really need to get my hands on some...” Read full tasting note
“When Red Leaf made this puerh packet available to us way back when they said they were including a large number of cubes of puerh and one very fine quality tuo cha. I have logged the “every day”...” Read full tasting note
“Thanks Stephanie for this mini cake. I thoroughly enjoyed my second pu-erh experience (first one was from back in 2008). I like the fact that it can be re-steeped many times. It did have a very...” Read full tasting note
“I’m not sure if I should be even rating this as this is my first taste of pu-erh. Anyway, to be blunt, it smells and tastes like dead fish. Maybe it will grow on me? Thanks for the experience Red...” Read full tasting note
Limited offer – samples of puerh, not available for purchase.
Today I am drinking the nest shaped tuocha! There was only one in my bag, most of them were the little rectangular cubes. It is even smoother than the cube! I really need to get my hands on some high quality puerh in the near future. I wish Mandala had a small sampling pack or something!
When Red Leaf made this puerh packet available to us way back when they said they were including a large number of cubes of puerh and one very fine quality tuo cha. I have logged the “every day” type and now I am finally having the good stuff.
This is a shu. I gave it a rinse and it was still quite compact. I gave it a longish first steep, maybe 35 seconds. The resulting tea was medium brown but tasty. The tuo cha fell apart at that point and the next steep was maybe four seconds, yet the tea was nearly black! At no point in the many steeps we drank did it ever become bitter or hard edged, though. It was lightly earthy with the very faintest horse barn and definitely no fishy aroma or taste. And when it finally gave up, it really gave up! One steep was dark and then BOOM! Pale. I knew it was time to retire these leaves, but the three of us enjoyed a liter of good shu out of that little bitty tuo cha.
Confession time: I am going to Ireland on Sunday. I have never been on a plane. I have no rain gear or luggage. I need shoes. I am about to panic and am wondering if I will get airsick which would be absolutely humiliating.
Also, I am a homebody. I love being home. I don’t want to start wishing I was back here in just four days when I am staying two weeks.
Suggest some places for a quick little plane ride that would be fun to see. We really love the countryside and small towns more than big cities and someone suggested Sterling, Scotland. Any other suggestions from you well-travelled Steepsterites? Any travel suggestions?
I don’t have any travel suggestions, but I wish you a safe and enjoyable trip! :)
Have an awesome trip!
You will not be airsick. The planes are awesome nowadays. I only suggest to have a gum or hard candy in the beginning and at the end when you land. Enjoy your trip!
I’ve been to England on the cheap but not Ireland. Take one luggage bag, a small one, and make sure it has wheels. I found I had to walk a lot with my luggage, train depots have stairs. Elevators and escalators are not ubiquitous like they are here, we North Americans have to walk far less when we travel here. I brought wash and wear clothes and was glad I did, dryers don’t work as well over there and wash machines reek with mildew, I hand washed with soap leaves. Unless you bring your own teapot, I brought Folgers coffee in tea bags, I didn’t find good tea at all.
Lost my first note so I’ll try again. So many destinations are available to you within a short flight from Dublin. Even to go as far as Croatia is under 3 hours and Turkey is just over 4. The summer I lived there my coworkers and I travelled to various places throughout Europe and North Africa, so if these destinations interest you, you are most likely limited by cost, frequency of flights, and or documentation. Within Ireland we mostly travelled by ground transportation. Belfast is only 2 he’s a way and cork about three.
If you enjoy hiking there are two popular trails accessible on the dart system. http://www.irishtrails.ie/Trail/Howth—-Bog-of-Frogs-loop/110/ and http://www.irishtrails.ie/Trail/Bray-to-Greystones—-Cliff-walk/654/. Popular trips among my coworkers were to the Giants causeway, the cliffs of Mother, the ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula, Cork and Waterford, but really there are many towns and historical sites that are within an easy distance of Dublin.
I’m a shameless tourist, would love to see Avoca where Ballykissangel was filmed.
Thank you, everyone! I am hoping to be in Dublin long enough at the very beginning to hit a tea shop and get something good!
Earplugs are useful, both on plane and in unfamiliar hotels. So excited for you!
Ireland is absolutely on my bucket list. Spent 2 1/2 weeks along the Mosel and Rhine rivers in August and loved the towns and small cities in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France. So bicycle and walker friendly. And all the people were super friendly. My husband also loved Scotland a few years ago but I wasn’t able to go. I think you’ll have a great time, especially if you get out into the smaller towns.
Thanks Stephanie for this mini cake. I thoroughly enjoyed my second pu-erh experience (first one was from back in 2008). I like the fact that it can be re-steeped many times.
It did have a very slight fishy smell, but that did not bother me. I ‘rinsed’ it for 30 secs, but I decided to drink the ‘rinsing’ water and even that tasted good for me, lol. Pu-erh is definitely in my list of teas to explore :)
you can buy “sample”/small sizes from garrett – i ordered a few from him to try recently. I highly recommend trying special dark and noble mark…you can get the same tea that they pressed to make their phatty cake too if you want a sense of whether you’d like that one too…oh just place an order! haha i’ve only been able to place one order with garret and it’s all so delicious!
Can you buy less than a full ounce for sampling? When I look on the website that is the smallest quantity I see…I really would prefer a half ounce or less for sampling purposes!