Finally trying this mini tu! I really have not felt like reviewing new teas lately (aka all last week lol), but I will try to be better this week. I still have so many to review that I picked up on vacation! Ah, all in good time. Tonight, I was ridiculously craving a latte with eggnog lol, but my stomach doesn’t do well with milk, so I thought I’d be nicer to it and have some pu’erh instead. And I have so many mini tuochas to get to, might as well have one tonight.
This one has a barn, hay-like scent to it. Definitely like wet hay in a barn haha. I do not mind this earthy scent, mostly due to my new love of pu’erh, although I can see it being off-putting to some. I did a quick 15s steep as recommended, then a 1 minute steep. The tuocha is just starting to break apart at the end of this steeping.
The liquor is dark and rich and smells clean and caramelly. Mmmm, man I needed this tonight. As for the flavor, ahh this is so good right now. A ton of caramel flavors in this one! A clean earthiness, a tinge of smoke, maybe leather at the end of the sip, but this melds with the sweetness to lend a sugar like sensation on my tongue. I’m totally picturing caramellized, slightly burnt brown sugar.
Overall, this is rich, thick, and immensely satisfying. I feel like I am not quite adept enough to determine many flavours in pu’erh yet other than caramel and earth notes haha, but this is certainly enjoyable, even if I’m missing (or mis-interpreting) some of the flavours. Exactly what I needed tonight!
ETA – I did the second steeping for 1 min as well, and the liquor is super dark like coffee. I was worried it would be pretty strong, but it is still awesome. More pronounced leather and some wood notes and not quite as smooth, but still delicious. And its also making me quite sleepy and relaxed :)
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Caramel, Leather
