Wow. Just wow. And not in a good way.
I was really excited to try an unflavored puerh, since I’ve only tried flavored, and I thought the notes of this tea on Verdant’s site sounded good, so I got a sample. The leaf is definitely chipped off pieces of a whole cake, which is kinda cool, and new for me. I did the recommended rinsings, and brewed it western style at a 2-minute infusion. The aroma was very similar to my beloved cinnamon swirl bread tea, in that it smelled bready and earthy.
The taste, however, pretty much shocked my system. It didn’t taste AT ALL like it smelled. The first sips, I thought I got a woody flavor, and then a leather note hit me smack in the face and that was all I tasted, and it was not good. I’m sorry to say this, but I dumped that cup and brewed another, hoping the next infusion would be different. It was not.
I guess this type of puerh is not for me. I looked at the ingredients for cinnamon swirl bread tea, and it contains a yunnan-based puerh. Maybe I should look for one of those. Or maybe I should just stick to flavored for now.
