Blood Orange Pu-erh

Who’s awesome? RAYN IS AWESOME!!!

Today Rayn gets home from work and says, “some strange boxes came for you at my work today”.
I respond with “that is odd, I’m not expecting anything right now”.
He opens up his wheelie suitcase and starts piling small boxes on the floor while saying “yeah, all this tea came for you for some reason”.
I stand there slack-jawed for a minute before I realize that they are Samovar boxes. And then it dawns on me that Rayn has brought home the Samovar celebration kit, and I didn’t ask for it. He just decided to randomly surprise me with about 2 pounds of tea from a local retailer that I love (insert excited exclamation points here). Do I have the best partner or what?

Another random tea moment happened on Saturday that made me realize how lucky I am. We were at his company’s holiday party, and around dessert time Rayn decided to get another drink, and asked me if I would like anything. I said a cup of tea would be nice. He asked “what kind?” I said black tea. He asked again, “what kind?” At this point I realized he’s learned enough about tea to know that “tea” is not specific enough, and neither is “black tea”. And while he does drink tea a few times a week, it’s always because I made him some.

Now onto this tea! I love blood oranges, and I’m learning to love puerh. I like the combination of both! I am smelling a vaguely fishy scent, but I can’t tell right now if that’s the tea or because I made prawn stir fry for dinner. I have to try this another night (a fair, non prawn dinner night) and see if I still smell it.
I LOVE the blood orange flavor in this. It’s not even remotely artificial, and really specifically blood orange and not regular orange. It’s slightly creamy and spicy, and the ginger and grapefruit in this really pops. I can’t taste much of the puerh when it’s hot, but as it cools I get a bit of damp earthyness.

Oh yeah, and here’s Rayn’s review: frowny face…“not my thing”. Guess you can’t please everyone. ;)

Samovar = serious master blenders. I mean that. Man.

So, I was trying to figure out what I would drink today, and I searched through takgoti’s Magic Box of Wonderful Tea that she sent me. I figured I’d drink my lucky number (#12) and came out with this little number. Blood Orange Pu-erh. Interesting.

I’m not the biggest fan of oranges. I don’t mind the flavor of them, but the texture kind of grosses me out. The pulpy membrane… eesh. And since citrus tends to upset my stomach, I tend to avoid them. But this one smells pretty interesting, and it’s a pu-erh, so I decided to give it a go.

The dry leaves are that thick, heavy-looking black leaf splotched with brown that usually sings pu-erh to me! There are chunks of orange rind and seeds (I think?) and pieces of ginger. The entire concoction smells like dark citrus. Not bright, sunny morning, Florida-weather-orange. More mysterious and exotic, with an earthy base and spiciness from the ginger. Mmmm.

So I actually rinsed this one, which was a first for me. I had no idea how to go about this, so I poured about 6 oz. of boiling water over the leaves and left it for about 15 seconds, then dumped it. Fresh boiling water over it again, and then the actual steep… almost immediately the water started turning that signature dark, pu-erh color. The bits of dried fruit began to puff up, and swirl around the pot.

Then it came time for the pour! And boy, is this dark. I just love the color of pu-erh. I can’t see the bottom of my cup, at all. It looks like a bruised-black, and the smell coming from it… the smell is complex. I’m getting mostly deep blood orange notes, accented by a bit of ginger, and then a smoke-like earth component.

I raised my spoon, and took the first sip. Let me pause for a second, for a big, “Mmmmmm!” Even though I finished my cup about 10 minutes ago, the flavors are still echoing in my mouth in big ways, and it’s great.

The blood orange is definitely the body of this flavor, and it’s almost rich and satisfying. It’s an almost brassy note, if I had to color it, very strong and full, but never overwhelming. It’s not really sweet, or tart, but wonderfully and distinctively orange. You’d never mistake it for anything else. The ginger really creeps in at points, with a spicy, warming quality, that pairs wonderfully with the citrus of the orange flavors. The pu-erh is not really the focal point here, but it really does its job of holding the tea together and grounding it in the earth. I think that’s what really makes this one special. It’s dark and rich and deep, reminded me of moss and deep forest.

Pu-erh to me, is a liquid manifestation of earth. I don’t really associate it with a dirt-like flavor, but I tend to think of it more as a mushroom, or a truffle. Rich and satisfying and delicious.

I’m really a bit surprised at how much I like this one, since I’m not one to truly love citrus, and I wasn’t sure how flavored pu-erh was going to go. But it’s an absolute, clear winner, and I was happy to share the morning with this cup! Another big victory for Samovar! And takgoti as well, for sending me some of this delicious stuff!

Sam O. Var is my new love. I’m going to elope with him. Right now. He can do no wrong, in my book.

I know what you’re going to say — it’s just so much pixie dust, that tinkling of little bells you hear in your mind, that image you see of little cartoon hearts floating up around your head like soap bubbles, that frisson of anticipation. He’s bound to disappoint you at some point. Just give it some time. It always happens.

You could be right. You could be. But not today. I am six for six today, six for six of Samovar samples that I would most definitely drink again. (Now if only Breakfast Blend would come back in stock in the large tin, I could complete an order and qualify for free shipping.)

The aroma out of this packet is deliciously orange. Not tart, not thin, not artificial-smelling. It’s a rich orange smell, almost creamy, like the orange in fine orange-flavored chocolates. It predominates over the pu erh until the leaves and those little bits of orange rind and ginger are wet, when the tea starts to share the stage. After multiple steeps, the aroma of the wet leaves and the tea itself is still deliciously orange, and the grapefruit is there as well. The ginger is pretty subtle, but that’s fine with me. I like my ginger subtle.

The orange in the flavor is mellow and deep, like a very ripe, very juicy orange — but more. The fact is I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a fresh orange that is this orangy. It must be a synergy in the blend, with the other flavors bringing more orange out of the orange. I suspect this is the primary role of the ginger, along with adding a bit of spice that stays on the tongue along with the orange in the finish, and persists, pleasantly, for quite a while.

This is not a star vehicle for the pu erh; rather it is part of a terrific ensemble cast. It balances, it interacts, it comes to the front from time to time to deliver a forest-floor-after-rain note and then retreats to a foundational presence with the rest of the flavors.

I took this through 5+ steeps. Unfortunately I was interrupted with a phone call during the third, and didn’t get off the phone until it was time for the fifth. All the more reason to add this to my next order, so I can enjoy it again in peace.

Yesterday, I came to the realization that pu-erh and I will never be more than passing acquaintances. There is just something about the strong earthy, hay-like sweetness that comes across as cloying to me. But the citrus in this along with the gingery tingle (one that reminds me of my super-yummy Midel Ginger Snap cookies) gives fantastic balance to that super-sweet pu-erh-ness. The sweetness is there but it is lurking in the smell and under the ginger citrus. In fact, that now-subdued sweetness reinforces the ginger snap feeling. The aftertaste – sweet with a strong ginger tingle and a certain freshness – is the same aftertaste I get from my gingersnaps.

So yeah, this might smell a bit like citrus-scented dirt when brewing (though it smells like delicious citrus-peel citrus when dry) and that just isn’t the most appetizing thing, but this is gingersnap cookie tea for me. So I like it.

PS – I used my entire sample (which was around 5g) in my 10oz cup, so I did go a little heavy on the leaf. Dunno what exact difference that might make but I’d be all for repeating the heavy leafness in the future to make sure I get ginger snap tea.

ETA: The second steep is mostly ginger and pu-erh which is a little disappointing. I miss my clean, fresh ginger snaps.

I was inspired to drink this today, even though The Amazing Takgoti sent me this sample months ago, because of the little Bon Appetit article about Pu-Erh in the May issue. I spent a very enjoyable SIX HOURS sipping multiple steeps of this tea!!!

When I did the rinse, I said “OH NO!!! This smells TERRIBLE!!! There is no way I am going to be able to drink this!!!!” It didn’t smell like fish tank, fish, or even earth. It smelled like something odd I never smelled before!!!

My first steep had that smell, but lighter. When I went to take my first sip…nothing like the smell!!!! So interesting! The blood orange and ginger made it familiar and delicious, but the pu-erh was earthy and complicated and like nothing I’ve ever had before! It wasn’t even like I was drinking tea!

My additional steeps cycled through a spicy Thai broth, then a mellow broth, and then there were some coffee like elements, and now the flavor is getting fainter and there is just a subtle lingering ginger note.

Is this mellow, calm, pleasant feeling what they call the pu-erh high?!

Despite having my mind completely made up that I was going to hate this and spit it out, I totally enjoyed it! It’s so odd that I couldn’t see myself having it every day, or even every week, but I certainly want to have it again!!

Had a sample of this. Very lovely! Nothing like any pu-erh I have ever tried.
Chocolate, Sandalwood, Orange, Deep, Complex flavors!
I absolutely want to add this to my perm stash!

Threw this sample in with my order of Hawaii-grown black just because it sounded good, and maybe to help defeat a bias I have against orange flavoring in tea. Fortunately the sample size is generous, if pricey, so I should be able to get quite a few steeps out of it.

I don’t usually rinse pu-erhs before steeping, but did this time because of the specific recommendation to do so on the sample pack. I figure if they’ve gone to the trouble of recommending it as the best way to enjoy their tea, I should probably try it. The first steep went for four minutes and ended up really, really dark. I was afraid it would be too far gone to be enjoyable, but it was actually quite delicious. Not at all bitter, just a little astringent, and the orange is strongly present without being acrid. There’s not too much of the typical earthy pu-erh taste in the foreground; it’s more a weight than a flavor.

2nd steep, four minutes. Just as flavorful this time around. The orange leaves a little bit of a tingle in the mouth. I’m enjoying this tea quite a bit and would consider buying it in a larger quantity.

What can I say about this savory little beauty? When I open my sample packet and took a sniff I thought " Oh wow, this smells yummy" as in orange, blood orange yummy it smelled not like an artificially orange flavor but like the real thing just not quite as strong. Then I did the pour water over (Yes I followed the instructions) and then the actual steep and I start to get the dreaded pu erh fishy smell but not as sharp as other fishy smelling pu erh’s I’ve tried. This fishy smell is tolerable it’s actually quite tolerable even. Then I take a sip and the orange pu erh taste fills your mouth and you think NOW this is a good pu erh! I have had other orange pu erh’s so I can safely say this is the best one I have tried. I own another orange peel ginger pu erh that is pretty good and I enjoy it too but the ginger feel in that Pu erh is like going to P.F. Changs and having a meal this pu erh it’s like an appetizer. You know when you order the appetizer and it’s sooo good that you think How can the meal outdo this I wish I would’ve just ordered more of this appetizer! It’s like that it’s the awesome appetizer that is better than the meal! If that makes since?

The color is beautiful it a dark red, orange black color. Back to the taste it also leaves an orange aftertaste and I really appreciate that as most other flavored pu erh’s I have tried just leave me with a pu erh after taste. I like this I may order more very soon!

The tea brews up into a purple black liquor with the by now familiar somewhat pleasant, somewhat strange, wet yak smell of pu-erh. There is a strong overtone of orange and some kind of spice, perhaps a clove or cinnamon. Unlike other orange scented teas, this is not a sweet flowery orange but a strong orange, which I suppose matches the strength of the pu-erh. There is a whisper of ginger, but it is subdued.

Overall a very nice experience. It is a slow sipper for me because of the pu-erh, but I’m enjoying it with my morning rice.

Much thanks to takgoti for the tasting.

The tea is background to the brightness of orange peel and crisp/dryness of grapefruit peel. If you don’t like strong bergamot, you most likely won’t like the strong citrus flavours, but hey never say never. I think this is interesting enough to try a sample. I would pair this with a fish course, maybe even raw fish like tuna sashimi. Any ideas how to infuse tea into a sauce ( say, a mushroom sauce)?