35
drank 25 Pu-erh Mini Cakes by Red Leaf Tea
871 tasting notes

Thank you to SandysCuppa for these samples. She gave me two Pu-erh mini cakes in a swap. I do not know which kind they are. One is wrapped in green and the other in a tan colour package. I tried the one in the green.

I have to start by saying is I have never liked pu-erh, but to be fair, I had only tasted flavoured pu-erh, and not what I would consider the real thing.

The dry mini cake has no smell that I can discern. I looks like compressed tea leaves, dark brown colour.

I steeped in 98C water for 2 minutes. The smell of the liquor is strong, earthy, almost mushroom-y. Maybe a hint of seaweed. The colour is dark brown, almost purple.

The taste of the tea is thick and earthy. Slight hint of mushroom or edible fungus-type taste. I feel like I am getting a hint of Miso flavour.

Overall I think I can safely say I am not a fan of pu-erh. It is not bad, but I have to say that I much prefer other blacks and oolong teas. I am thankful I have had the opportunity to try a real pu-erh mini cake because otherwise I would have never sought it out on my own. Another step in my tea journey :)

Thanks SandysCuppa for this experience!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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Bio

I am a lifetime tea lover.

I did foray into the world of coffee for a period of time, but I returned to my true love. I still, however, enjoy a good cup of java.

My all time favorite tea is Earl Grey, which I drink every morning, the stronger the bergamot the better. I definitely prefer natural oil of bergamot to artificial flavouring.

I mostly like black and dark oolong teas. My current favs are Fujian blacks, Keemun and Assams, and Wuyi oolongs. I gravitate towards anything with lychee in it. I also drink a lot of herbal blends but am wary of hibiscus. I do not favour mate, or pu’erh tea, although I have found a few blends that I like. (I so badly want to like straight pu’erh tea but it all tastes gross to me. I keep trying though). Rooibos, green and white teas fall somewhere in the middle. I find myself gravitating towards heavily roasted oolongs and teas from Paris/France based companies.

I love iced teas and cold brews.

My current tea goal is to make the perfect cup of chai from scratch – almost there…I think.

I am in love with the whole experience of tea.

Location

Saskatchewan, CANADA

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