Emperor's Puerh

I brought three puerhs to the beach with us in hopes of eating and drinking better than be (me) usually does on vacation. For a bagged tea, this is a really tasty puerh. I do not detect any fishiness at all. My daughter had a cup, and I asked if she liked it. She said it isn’t really a question of like or not like, because horse is horse! LOL! I like it, and resteeped!

Here is our pup experiencing his first beach trip. He looks so happy! He did investigate a jellyfish pretty closely, and then sneezed for a while!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24998856@N06/7185506658/

I graduated from college this weekend. Yay! Now to find a job.

I stole a bag of this from my fiance when I was over at his house for a little bit last night. It is very dark. It looks like coffee it is so dark. I am a little stuffed up from switching climates again, but it smells like earth. Damp earth with a slight horse-barn smell. Not enough to be off-putting, but enough to make me think of the stables at my college.

I am trying to let it cool down a bit before I taste it because it is hot! All I can think of is this taste being weird. It is smooth. Almost watery like I didn’t steep it enough. I brewed this for four minutes since I’ve never had it before. At first I kept thinking sushi, but that has passed now. Now it is just smooth and dark. There is a little bit of a bitter taste at the back of my throat.

I keep thinking latte, so I’m going to add a splash of milk because I can. And because I am at home and don’t have to be restricted by when I can drink my tea with milk. Mmm, I like it with milk. The milk adds a little more body so I’m not getting that watery taste. It is still smooth and dark. Now it tastes a little bit more like earth. Damp earth. A good taste. It does remind me slightly of coffee the more I drink it, but you can still tell a flavor difference.

I don’t think I would reach for this a lot, but I would definelty have to try it again.

Mainly muddy, minimally malty. Medium ;)

Love this stuff and it mixes great with the dark hot cocoa by Swiss Miss. ;P

I had completely forgotten about this tea until this morning. I bought this at Whole Foods on my way in to the office one morning many moons ago, before I knew what ‘puerh’ meant. Poor innocent me, at the time I just wanted a strong butt-kicking tea for my non-coffee morning. I still haven’t tried a real pu-erh, but a bag of this was enough one day to put me off and teach me that I know nothing about tea.

I still can’t stand the smell of this one, and it is a very …fragrant mug. FYI, for anyone who might be tempted by my sexy sexy review: it is a terrible idea to carry a mug around the office that smells like moldy old straw and a barn full of poo. I remember now why I hid this box of tea in the work cupboard instead of keeping it in my tea drawer in my desk. My co-workers hate me. I bet I could go home sick today with little to no explanation, though. (Trying not to torture myself with the thought that they probably think this smell is somehow coming from me!) With this one cup of tea I bet I could fertilize my whole garden. I keep eyeing the bottom of the mug to see if there’s a horse farting up at me. – Not sure yet, it’s still pretty dark in there.

That being said, I’m still drinking it. It tastes better than it smells. I am from Nebraska, and while this smells gawdawful, it tastes like the farm smells. Tobacco ash, old leather, dust, straw, black walnut. I want a scotch. Wow, I wonder if it’s possible to mix this tea and a really really peaty scotch, like a Laphroaig, in some sort of recipe? It’s the only thing I can think of that could possibly save it.

So, after all that… does anyone want some of this?

I tested a rinsing steep on these tea bags today. I put the bag in a cup of boiling water for about 10 seconds, poured it out, and then did a 5 min steep in boiling water.

I like it this way. Some of the flavors that were fleeting before were more well defined in this cup. Most notably, there was a sides of the tongue sweetness that was more prominent. The cup was less astringent. The bitter, sweet, and leathery flavors were in good balance, with the previously noted smokey flavor quite absent. The color was still dark, but more of a dark, dark rose than coffee-colored.

I’m impressed by a mass-produced, bagged tea with such versatility.

It’s Labor day, which for me is Pajama Day, & next on my agenda (of basically doing nothing) is a hot bubble bath, which must be accompanied by a hot cup of tea. I would rather my first post here be about something loose leafed, but I’m at my weekend home (that’s my boyfriend of 12 years house), & my selections here aren’t as varied. I want something bold & rich for my bath, & this one was in my wallet. (I carry a selection of bagged teas in my wallet for when I want a cup & none is available). So Emperor’s Puerh it is.

Let me mention that although I love tea in all it’s varieties & drink it often, I’m not in the habit of putting words to the flavors, images, & emotions I get while drinking it, so please be patient with me, as I’m new to writing these things down. Even more difficult is the idea of rating a tea…that will take some thought!

Of course, I’ve drank this tea before. While I was heating the water, I raised the bag to my nose & breathed in: the smell of salt & clay. Adding the water, I smell kelp as well, with an undertone of mushroom.

The taste is earthy & very smooth, the color dark & rich. I want a more malty, chocolate flavor, but it isn’t there. What is there is a mellow mineral tinged cup with an aftertaste of newly mown hay. I like it. As with other Numi teas, I feel that they tend to skimp on the amount of tea they put in the bag, but that’s the opinion of someone who likes her tea kind of strong.

Just for fun, I’m adding a little stevia to the 2nd half of the cup, and… I like it better plain. Oh darn, I’ve drank the whole cup of tea & haven’t even drawn my bathwater! I guess I’d better brew another cup!

Hehehehe Whole Foods did indeed have this in stock…along with all the other Numi puerh blends! I picked up this one and the Chocolate Puerh one, but I decided to try what I knew I would probably already like. Now, right off the bat I was skeptical about trying a puerh in a bag; I was afraid it would be very bland. Well, to my surprise it tasted great! It has that earthy/woodsy taste that was very smooth and pleasing. My only wish is that it was stronger, but I assume that it is not as strong due to have not been aged very long? But hey, that’s ok! I still get a nice bagged puerh to take to work with me and that makes me happy :-)

Kept hearing about Pu-erh tea, so thought I would give it a try. Opened the package and smelled a bit of a musty smell. At first I wrote it off to the smell of the box. Then I opened the individual sachet and poured hot water into my mug, and stepped away. After a minute or two, while walking around the kitchen, I smelled something that made me think that my dog had had an accident (#2) in his crate — seriously. (EDIT: Now I can’t think of anything but calling it “poo-echh” tea. Because that was very nearly my first reaction.) Then I realized that the odor was coming from the tea! Smelling the tea in the mug more closely, I detected an odor that smelled like a cross between wet rawhide/wet leather and horse manure/hay bales. It really does smell like a horse barn. As for the taste, it also has a bit of a musky taste, but not nearly as strong as the odor. Can’t say that the taste is totally unpleasant, but I really can’t imagine having a craving for this tea. Tried to add some milk and sugar to it, and yes, it did stand up to the additions, but I can’t say that it really improved the flavor, and certainly didn’t improve the odor. The flavor reminds me of wet earth and moss, or at least how I imagine wet earth and moss would taste. Is it terrible? No. Drinkable? Yes, but not particularly pleasing to the nose or palate. Frankly, not sure why people rave about this stuff, but then, I didn’t like Lapsang Souchong either. Just wish I had spent my $5 on a different black tea, perhaps an Assam or English Breakfast tea.

Probably going to willingly swap this tea to anyone who likes Pu-erh tea or wants to try it. I know, I’ve done a marvelous job of selling it, haven’t I? :)

I thouroughly enjoyed this tea; rich and malty flavor. I was saddened when I made and use the last tea bag. Not yet replaced/purchase another box.