Pu-erh Ginger Tea Blend

Hi Steepster friends!
I hope the site is back up and acting functional…

Today has been a bit of a waste for me. I went to the dentist this morning and then went around to a bunch of different shops trying to find a teapot I liked and wouldn’t break. I went to Whole Foods, David’s and Lupicia. I saw a lot of glass teapots but I have broken those and even the ceramic ones!! I finally ended up getting the IngenuiTEA at Crate and Barrel (made by Adagio). It’s plastic so I can only hope I don’t break it!!

Anyway I got this tea at Whole Foods while I was there. It’s one I’ve had before. I don’t think it’s the best shu in the world but the ginger is a good addition and I remember this is a good one to keep on hand in case of a stomach ache. When I got home I brewed it up in the IngenuiTEA, which is great so far. I can put a coffee mug underneath of it and get a whole mug of tea. It’s nice!

Tea of the early (ok its 9am) morning. This is another from World Tea East and Rishi. I was interested in this one because I love pu-erh and ginger. But mixing ginger into anything is a tricky business. At least I’ve always found it to be. So I was a little unsure of how this was going to work out.

The dry leaf smells very much of ginger and earthy pu-erh…a good sign. But will it steep up the same way? The smell is more of the ginger and earthy pu-erh I smelled with the dry leaf, my hopes are up. I must say I was not let down the flavor is very earthy and rich, but with the nice bite of the ginger at the finish. This one is a winner in my book!

It is cold and rainy out, but sadly I am not at my apartment with my rainy-day teas. I’ve already taken most of the ones from my house, but thankfully I got my shipment from Rishi today! I am a sucker for sales so I jumped on their Mother’s Day one—I ordered too much, but I essentially got 1 tin for free and free shipping as well because of the sale. This is how I justify a lot of my tea buying: it’s on sale so I am saving money (even if it’s money I wouldn’t have spent otherwise ^^;).

So I’m waiting to go to the movies (to see The Avengers for the second time—part of a late mother’s day adventure because my mom is awesome) and a wonderful tea-filled box arrived. I sniffed them all and this was the clear choice for today. It smelled like ground ginger, not fresh, which was interesting and perfect for a chilly day. The steeping instructions seemed kind of off, more for a black than a pu-erh, but I decided to go with it and hope 5 minutes wasn’t too long. It came out fine, not too strong at all! It brewed up so dark though, almost coffee-colored, and smelled like yeast and a bit earthy. Definitely a good smell, at least to my nose.

The taste, surprisingly, is both fresh and dry ginger, a combination I’ve never had in tea before. There’s that spicy, hits you in the back of the throat heat you get from ginger root, and that mellow baking flavor from the dried. The pu-erh is definitely a nice addition as it gives a fullness to the cup, it’s not overwhelmingly ginger the whole way through but has a rich, earthy finish. I don’t really taste any of the orange, though—which is better, I like it being just ginger. Ginger + orange = the holidays to me. I can see this as being a blend I regularly reach for on colder, wet days (which happens quite a bit this time of year in NY).

Another interesting combination from Rishi Tea blending organic ginger and pu’erh tea. Not something I would normally look for, even though I enjoy good pu’erh tea and ginger tea as well (especially from fresh ginger). However, it was part of a sampler pack I had purchased and I thought I would give it a try.

Their brewing parameters of 5-6 minutes were a disaster on my first attempt, making a truly undrinkable brew—but when I shortened the time to 3 minutes, at 195 degrees F, it brews up to a really tasty concoction. Dark and earthy, predominantly ginger flavor but with a distinct pu’erh taste supporting. I was amazed to get three nice infusions this way with enough left over to try iced. Mmmm. You have to really like ginger to enjoy this (duh!) and try out the brewing parameters to find a taste that suits you. If the ginger is too prominent, try a second infusion where it tones down a bit.

Quick impressions:

Ginger and Soil. Planty, peaty, earthy ginger. Warmed in a terracota pot in the summertime. Unsweet ginger.

I like ginger so I like this just fine.

I really enjoy the earthiness of this tea paired with the ginger. It’s nice on a super cold night. The warmth from the tea along with the heat from the spice is making me warm and tingly from head to toe.

Yesterday I travelled to the Milwaukee Art Museum, because I’d never been there. Of course, it’s the middle of summer, so they cranked up the air conditioning as high as they possibly could. I had left my sweater in my locker and I was freezing. We were having lunch, and this was on the menu, so I figured I would try it. I never had Pu-erh tea before.
The problem with museum food is that once you’re in there, you’re stuck in there to eat whatever they have to offer. As a vegan, I’m often delegated to salads—which are fine, they just don’t warm you up. So, thus the tea. I really liked it! It reminded me of a lentil soup I make with ginger, one that I had been craving. This tea warmed up up right away, and I had the energy to keep going and check out the modern wing upstairs. (Can I just say: Helen Frankenthaler and Richard Dierbenkorn? I’m surprised that I fell in love with their work so thoroughly yesterday, when I had paid them no heed before.)
This Pu-erh might not be the best, but it certainly is tied to a lot of memories of yesterday. I might have to try this for myself at home. And while Pu-erh is warming, does anyone know about a tea that is ‘energizing’? I have canvases to begin and I’m dragging. Canvas+dragging=Tea.

Random Teabag Sipdown!

When I first saw this in my Rishi teabag sampler pack I was curious about the combination, it wasn’t one I had tried before, but I didn’t particularly care for this one. I love ginger, but I felt that there was just a bit to much of it. I had trouble tasting the pu-erh base through all of the ginger. I will say that this was great to drink to calm my upset stomach from all of the eating out I’ve done this week. I can’t wait to go home and start cooking again.

I was given a sample packet of this tea by my local coffee shop. This is the first puerh blend from Rishi that I’ve ever had where I could taste the puerh. What’s funny about that is what it’s blended with is quite strong. The ginger is spicy, but I can taste the leather and earth of the puerh. It even coats my tounge like a real puerh. So I’m drinking puerh and doing ginger shots, I like multi-tasking.

delish. perfect for 15 degree weather and a car that is buried in snow…