This is the sample that was included with my recent Della Terra order. First off, mine looks nothing like the picture. There aren’t any flower petals or sugar pearls. It looks like dark tea leaves (puerh looks very similar to black to me) with some little brown dried fruit bits and one giant piece of freeze-dried strawberry. I broke the strawberry apart and mixed it in. There are also a few small cubes of some fruit – could be pineapple. The dry tea smells very fruity. It has a very tart strawberry mixed with some other fruit that could be pineapple or peach. I also get a little bit of vanilla and some mustiness in the back. I’ve never had a puerh before so this could be interesting. I steeped it for 4 minutes.
The brewed tea smells like musty earth and wood with a little vanilla and maybe a tiny hint of strawberry in the back. I drank the first half of the cup unsweetened and I found it very odd, though not unpleasant. There is a distinct taste of ash and musty earth and wood. I don’t really get any vanilla but I do get a little taste of fruitiness in the background. I added a little bit of sugar (half teaspoon maybe) and it definitely brought out the fruit and the vanilla a bit more.
I assume that earthy and woody taste is typical of a puerh just from reading about others’ experiences with them on here. I was just happy that I didn’t get any fishiness in the smell or taste! I realize this is most likely not super-fantastic puerh considering Della Terra is known for their dessert and flavored teas and not their tea base. I would definitely be open to trying puerh again though! :)
Flavors: Ash, Earth, Musty, Strawberry, Wood
rinse first, always rinse puerh
Thanks, I’ll try that next time. I have some in the fridge cold-brewing right now also. :)