Bourbon Barrel Puer Tea

Another tea from my J-Tea order. Very impressed with his teas. I’m super sick right now, but wanted pu’er and since I have plenty of this, I’m not too worried if I can’t taste it in all it’s glory.

This tea is delicious. That’s all I can say for now. Super glad I added it to my order. This will be the first tea I have when my taste buds are functional again cause if it tastes this good when I can barely taste it, I anticipate some mind blowing when I can actually taste it!

This was a fun tea to try. It was very sweet, fruity, with some vanilla and oak flavors. The tea was very smooth, and left my mouth with a cool spearmint-like sensation. I wasn’t that fond of this tea at first, but by the second cup, I was really enjoying it. This is the one puerh that I am tempted to add sweetener to.

It’s two days after Christmas, and this arrived with all the fanfare of an opening mailbox door. I noticed the label on the package, and immediately ducked inside. I’d been waiting to try this tea the moment I first heard about it. Heck, I was there during the initial brainstorming session. Over beer!

I’ve notched off a few barrel-scented teas, and this one is the strongest yet. The earthiness of the pu-erh is there, but it’s a runner-up to the rich, strong, smoked fruit notes of the bourbon barrel scenting. Wood, peat, gasoline, earth, and fireball sweetness all took turns pummeling my tongue. And that was just with gongfu-style.

Strong brew with flash steeps :)
I really like how smooth this tea is while having the notes of bourbon in it. I didn’t think that it would contain anything detectable. However, there is a smell and flavor that comes from how this tea was stored which is wonderful to experience as I drink multiple steeps.

Also, this: https://instagram.com/p/4phpxwxYIn/

Awesome Cheri sent me a sample of this tea. I’ve been super curious about it but not willing to pay $$$ for shipping on only an ounce without trying it first. I really enjoy beer aged in bourbon barrels!

So anyway, this puerh. The bourbon barrel flavor is actually quite distinct! The shu is dark and rich and sweet. There is some astringency not normally present in shu, perhaps from the barrel? I actually quite enjoy this though! Still not sure if I’ll ever purchase it since there are so many shu puerhs I like, but I am SO glad I got to try it!

this was one of the teas in the BBB Box from the most recent round…sadly i still have some teas from the round before that to get cracking on! Thankfully, i can get back to that after my sample insanity from the past few months lol. This is a decent puerh. I’m going to have to go through a few more steepings today after i get back from the mall ugh but so far this is shaping up to be quite tasty! there’s a sweetness here, but also an earthy quality to it. Mostly though, this is smooth and really quite tasty. I’ll see how it holds up once i get home :)

This is one of Tasty Brew’s offerings for the Spring round of the BBBB.
It’s certainly an interesting idea, & I approached it with a mixture of fascination & reluctancy, if that makes sense to anybody. For those who know my history (a grand tale of addiction, an intensive wild youth filled with various substances, & although I wouldn’t change it, it definitely included some very low points), I tend to not care for most alcohol-like things, not because I’m afraid that they’ll send me into a relapse after 30 years clean & serene, (there is no actual alcohol in the tea), but really just because I don’t care for the taste. Or the smell.
But I was still fascinated. I mean, this was aged in a Bourbon barrel! It’s got to be interesting, right?
I wasn’t sure how much tea to use, or for how long, so for the first cup I went with:
1.5 tsp + 8oz X 3min/5min
Too weak :p
I should have gone with a full Tb. We live, we learn.
Initial perceptions? meh…I really want to be amazed by this, but I wasn’t.
Call it ‘user error’. I’ve made a note on the package to up the dose next time, & I’ll let you know how it goes. :)

Grabbed a small pouch of this to try, along with some others in J-Tea’s lineup. This tea was the main reason I made an order, and so it made sense it’s also the first I’m trying.

And.. wow. It’s like pu-erh candy. It’s still a pu-erh, however it’s faint and definitely in the background. I get more wine candy, red berry richness, something tannin, woodsy (in a rich, chocolatey way, not a rooibos way). I have some red wine here, and this tea is considerably sweeter and more full bodied, which surprised me. I do get the pu-erh coming through the more it cools, and it adds an earthy, sharp, mineral taste. It’s almost too sweet with added sweetener.

And.. wow. It’s like pu-erh candy. It’s still a pu-erh, however it’s faint and definitely in the background. I get more wine candy, red berry richness, something tannin, woodsy (in a rich, chocolatey way, not a rooibos way). I have some red wine here, and this tea is considerably sweeter and more full bodied, which surprised me. I do get the pu-erh coming through the more it cools, and it adds an earthy, sharp, mineral taste. It’s almost too sweet with added sweetener.1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

I… wow… I really like this.