Pu-erh Vanilla Mint

Gosh I love this tea, and keep on forgetting that I have it. Lots of notes here: cocoa, vanilla, coolness of mint (minus the actual flavor of mint, if that makes any sense), a touch of something creamy in the mouthfeel. I feel decadent every time I have it, and I should really have it a lot more.

Drinking some more of this, since Azzrian suggested I drink some pu-erh tea and eat yogurt to help with my bloating. I do feel better, not 100%, but definitely better.

I tried to steep this tea longer to see if I could bring out more of that pu-erh flavor that wasn’t so strong last time. Eh, no dice. It’s still a really good tea, but I feel like it’s very overly minty and the pu-erh base is hard to detect. It could be any base, really. As it cools I think maaaaaaybe I could taste the pu-erh base a little more, but this is definitely very minty. Not bad at all, though.

Oh, and speaking of pu-erh, my testimonial was featured on Numi “Pu-Erh to the people” page, so I won two free boxes tea. It’s not a huge prize, but I’ll take it. Not sure if this shows up for the rest of you, but there I am (click “Share It/Testimonials” to see mine).
https://www.facebook.com/numitea/app_206491579464581

Additional notes: An unexpected sample sipdown on this one! I will MISS this one. It is so nice. I love the minty creaminess on the lovely pu-erh. I’m definitely buying this one whenever I order from Zen (a looonng time from now, probably) and they better still have it in stock! One of their best blends, I think.

After being held by customs for 3 weeks, my Zen Tea order is finally here! I loved my free samples so much that I wanted to stock them in large quantities, and I got a few extra samples thrown in as well. I know customer service isn’t part of the rating number, but I’d like to mention how awesome my shopping experience was there. Super fast communication, tons of samples, they even threw in a gorgeous wooden tea spoon for me!

This is definitely different from what I expected. I was thinking it’d be brightly minty with just a hint of vanilla, but there’s cinnamon too! The vanilla, cinnamon and the earthy, warm notes from the pu-erh make this a very warming, bake-y blend. Kind of like coffee cake, actually! The mint brightens it up and adds a nice cooking quality, so it’s an interesting mix of hot and warm elements. There’s a nice smooth, creaminess as well from the vanilla. The baked notes were a big surprise—I honesty was kind of expecting to only like this and wound up loving it. It’s like a mint cupcake!

Lol well since I only have enough left for one more cup of this tea, I should finally review it :P this is a very good flavored pu’erh. If you are wanting to delve into the world of pu’erh I highly recommend this one as a starter as it is really tasty! The dry smell is minty with a hint of cinnamon, no pu’erh scariness for me!

I steeped this for 5 minutes today, I think the rest of the cups have also been that long. It brews up a dark deep reddish brown, almost coffee-like, but nothing like coffee. The aroma is creamy vanilla with mint, and again that hint of cinnamon.

As for the flavor, this is a comforting hug on a warm day and is awesome for the stomach! The pu’erh and mint do a great job evoking a sense of calm, while the vanilla and cinnamon add a richness and a cozy sensation. The 5 minute infusion really makes for a satisfying cup, it’s hearty but not too harsh. I don’t remember if I’ve tried this with milk, but it definitely would take it nicely. Oh, and as for the pu’erh, it adds a pleasant earthiness and to the full body of the tea!

Overall, I should order more of this haha, I forget how enjoyable it is until I’m down to the last few cups. Very tasty, and a great starter pu’erh tea in my opinion!

So this looks like the same ingredients as Crème de Menthe from DavidsTea, and I was considering buying it since they’re discontinuing it, but ZenTea has it $1.50 cheaper sooo we’ll see.

Thanks Kallieboo! for this sample!

I gave it a little rinse over prior to infusing. Maybe useless but whatever, I’ve been burned too many times by Chocolate Orange.

This isn’t mindblowing at all, so I don’t think I’ll be buying creme de menthe, I was hoping for minty mint mint but the cinnamon is a lot stronger.

I let it cool off and now it finally has more of that obnoxiously green mint candy taste but I think the rest of this sample from Kallieboo will suffice for me, and if I really crave it more, obviously I can order from Zen Tea instead.

I am not usually the biggest fan of pu’erh but this one is really good. Obviously, it is minty with vanilla notes. And I am getting the pu’erh base coming through a bit but not too strongly.
This is also very good iced.
Resteeped 4 minutes, and it was equally as good.

Thank you to Zen Tea for sending me this!!
So… this is my second time trying to write this review… my computer freaked out and I lost the first one.. But anyways I’m not much of a mint person but this tea is fantastic! The mint is the first flavor you taste but it’s not too strong. The vanilla kind of mellows the mint and adds to the pu-erh. The pu-erh is definitely the dominant flavor. It’s very strong and earthy. The aftertaste has a touch of cinnamon and it makes the entire tea! The flavors blend well together and I could see myself drinking this every morning.

tea #5 of iceday sipdown

I received this one from alphakitty, hmmm yea pretty sure that’s who this one was from.

this smells mostly vanilla like with a hint of mint.
it tastes the opposite mostly mint (although lightly) with a hint of vanilla.
this is a very light puerh, it would be great after a meal, most likely lunch, cause if I drank it after supper I’d be wired all night.
I really like this one, light & delicious. definitely want to add this to my cupboard.

Not very minty, not very pu-ehy. But overall enjoyed it. I’m more a fan of orange pu-erhs though. Will definitely try this again soon though. Sample from KallieBoo!