9 Tasting Notes
very light tea but pleasant if brewed properly. would not recommend using Teavana’s instructions as they do not really cover the proper way to make this tea. For more flavor and a better brew use 1 heaping teaspoon to 5.5 oz of water for 1-1/2 mins at 165-175F.
Tea has a nice sweet aftertaste with a buttery palate. Would like to try a higher quality one from another vendor.
My first venture into Pu Erh which was met with quite a bit of experimentation. The directions indicate that you should steep 1 tablespoon with 8 ounces of water for 5-6 minutes. Using these directions resulted in an extremely dark and almost thick brew which was loaded with flavor but had a certain astringency that I did not think Pu Erh’s could get. Apparently this “western” style of preparation is not considered to be the most dependable and can result in poor tasting tea. I made another attempt using a “Gongfu” style, steeping 1 teaspoon (instead of tablespoon) for 30 seconds and increasing each subsequent steep by 10-15 seconds. The taste was much more pleasant and I was able to rid the tea of the initial astringency. My only reservation is that I am not sure if this is correct practice for this tea. I feel as though there is alot more flavor lurking beyond a 30 second steep and I should perhaps consider longer for next time. I will continue researching and am open to any suggestions.
