Emperor’s Pu-erh

I’m back at Tony’s. We’re watching Hell on Wheels. Next up is SNL.

This was one of the first Puerh teas I ever had, along with The Tea Spot’s Bolder Breakfast. Considering that this is in a bag, it’s really not bad, & definitely better than the cherry cough syrup tasting Shu I had a little while ago. It’s a smooth earthy tasting cup, a nice way to start drawing my day to a close.

A review of Emperor’s Pu-erh by Numi Organic Tea

Company: Numi Organic Tea
Tea Name: Emperor’s Pu-erh
Tea Type/Varietal: Pu-erh
Region:
Steeping Vessel/Amt. Leaf: cup/ tea bag
Liquor Color: dark red; seemingly like that of rich chocolate
Leaf Characteristics:

1st Steeping:
Water temperature: 200 Fahrenheit
Time: 3 minutes
I am having another of Numi pu-erh tea from the sampler pack that I purchased some time ago. Today it is Emperor’s Pu-erh.

I take the tea bag and put in my cup and I then add the boiled water over the tea bag and leave to steep for five minutes. Whilst pouring the water, the tea water colored a lightest orange/melon color to a darken red…hinting of that rich chocolate aspect pure cocoa’s have, except there is not chocolate or cocoa in this pu-erh.

Tea’s color is a lovely bright red with an earthy aroma; that moisten earth permeates this cup of tea. And when sipping of the tea it is rich and smooth tasting very malty. I had enjoyed this Emperor’s Pu-erh last year and I am happy to find it similarly a good cup of tea.

Overall, this tea is bold, rich and malty.

Picked up this box on a whim today. My girlfriend was judging me since it was one of the more expensive boxes, but it seems to be worth it so far! A very interesting flavor I’m not used to, maybe since I haven’t had many pu-erhs yet. Something about it is very familiar and comforting. The grass/earth/forest smells and tastes are very enjoyable. Excited to keep drinking it and see how I like it later.

- with milk and a spoonful of honey -
The taste of the tea is good, I don’t particularly like the after taste though. The smell of the tea is very bad and almost fishy. The long I drink it the less I can stand the smell of it. No one else in my family says it smells bad though.

I find this tea very satisfying.

hmm this pu is a bit fishy. While I appreciate the intensely creamy, Earthy, malty flavour, the fishing smell/taste is off-putting. Some mineral notes, also. It is more similar to a black tea in profile, but with the added flavours of fermentation.

Overall, it was nice to have a chance to try it (Thanks to whoever put this in the travelling tea box ), however I wouldn’t buy it in a cafe or purchase a box. I prefer their flavoured puerhs over this one. If I want straight pu, I’ll opt for a very palatable YS shou.

Great starter Pu erh!!!

I’ve only had a couple of Puerh teas, so I’m still getting a feel for them. This is smooth and earthy with a mineral flavor, and a slight sweetness. It makes me think of the polished stones you sometimes see in museum gift shops for rock collections. It’s interesting, but I think I’d rather drink a good black. I have a bunch of samples from the Puerh Beginner’s box that I want to try to see if I’m interested in exploring this type of tea further. I brewed this western style since that’s what the direction on the package were for.

Slight fishy notes on the nose but they barely come through in the flavor. After drinking this tea for a while, my recommendation if brewing Western style is to do a 30-60 second rinse in 4oz water while agitating the tea bag a bit. This seems to take the storage/fishy notes mostly out of the tea. Has a nice malty, earthy, rainy-day / wet wood taste. Very pleasant. Medium to medium-heavy body. No risk of oversteeping. I recommend full steep time, including agitation. Have not tried multiple steeps but would not be surprised if it could go for at least two 8oz steeps from a tea bag. Boiling or just-off-boiling water is fine. You cannot hit this tea too hard.

Flavor notes are very straight-forward. Not very complex, but simple in a good way. Malty, earthy, wet flavors with maybe touch of chocolate or dark chocolate.

Nice “Qi” as some would say (I use the term just to mean the energy/relaxation/body feeling it generates). Very warming and relaxing, with a bit of caffeine for focus. Balanced.

I think it’s a decent introductory tea. It held up well to steeping for about 2 hours while I had a training session this morning and didn’t go off in any way. A smooth cup of tea. Earthy, but not overpowering. Convenient form for travel. 2 yea bags for 15oz. 74.