Pu Erh Strawberry

WOOHOO! My NBT order came in, and with it this strawberry flavoured pu-erh which I’ve been crazy looking forward to since discovering it while ordering. As a result, I ran (not walked) to Tea Corner to prepare me a cup.

Adding these new teas to my Steepster cupboard caused me to trip over the first post I wrote about the Pu Erh Orange from the same company (which I lurve) and it was full of memories of my great-grandparents’ house. Gosh, that was nice to read again. :)

Anyway, this one smelled OMG of strawberry! Real strawberry. Not strawberry leaf, or that synthetic flavour that represents how we think strawberry tastes until we eat one and are reminded of how it’s supposed to be. Real strawberry. I’m sure this is enhanced by the inclusion of currant and blackberry leaf and coconut chips as I’m not picking up anything about these other flavours at all. Just strawberry. Lots of strawberry.

And also, coconut chips? WHY??? O.o I except this is one of these things that are not for me to know…

After steeping I get strawberry and earthy pu-erh, but primarily the berries. I wouldn’t say these two notes meld quite as naturally as pu-erh and orange (which, for me, are two flavours that suit each other perfectly), but it does so much better than I had expected. I’ve been a little nervous about the combination, to be honest, but not so much that I didn’t order a full 100g pouch without bothering with samples first.

Yes.

This? This is awesome. This tastes like strawberry jam. Exactly like strawberry jam, sweetness and all. Wow. Perhaps those coconut chips aren’t such a strange inclusion after all, since I expect they’re providing much of the sweetness here. I do seem to have a bit of a coconut-y aftertaste actually.

I’m glad I didn’t go with the sample first and took a chance on the full 100g. It’s not the last time I’ve bought this, I don’t think!

So the strawberry flavouring is spot on, and it’s quite strong too, but not so strong that the tea is completely drowned. Only nearly. It’s down there, I can tell, but I can’t find too many details about it. I just get an impression of something deep and dark and stable. If it had a noise it would be sort of rumbling. I’m reminded rather of the Ogier in the Wheel of Time series, or of Tolkien’s Ents.

I think the base is what really makes it work here. A pu-erh base seems solid and serious but with a playful, girly touch, whereas this in a black tea would just be frilly and frivolous. The average black tea base probably wouldn’t have enough strong low notes to really carry the flavouring off here.

I find it difficult to really describe this stuff. Just know this:

It is very very good.

This will be my fourth cup of flavoured Pu Erh today. The snow has stopped falling but a few inches have settled, for how long is anybodies guess. The snow is beautiful to look at but it’s cold and dangerous. Last year it snowed on my birthday but it doesn’t look like there is much chance of that happening this year, it’s arrived too early. (My birthday is 6th February).

The tea whilst raw is dark brown with small red strawberry pieces and it smells absolutely amazing! It’s real strawberry and it smells so sweet and juicy, very natural like and thankfully not the leaf. I’m licking my lips due to the smell alone which for the record is quite potent.

Once the tea has steeped it’s dark brown in colour and smells just as strong, fresh and naturally delicious as it’s raw form.

Wowzers this tastes as lovely as the smell! The first few sips reveal sweet strawberry which is then followed by a rich and smooth Pu Erh after taste. The strawberry is slightly more dominant but with it being so sweet and fresh I put that as being a positive thing. Besides I can taste the Pu Erh fairly well despite being overtaken. This is another blend that reminds me of sweets.

Earlier I drank Mother of Pearl- Della Terra and noted that was mostly strawberry flavoured (and Pu Erh based) and I think any fan of that tea would love this. This tea is stronger than MOP and sweeter without having to add anything extra.

I think this tea alone would be worth placing another order from NBT for but considering I also love their Orange Pu Erh and Orange Black I’m thinking I should do so sooner rather than later.

In a few words this tea is … Tantalizingly strawberry tastic!