Jasmine Raw Pu-erh Mini Tuocha

Thanks again Stephanie! I enjoyed the second sample of this mini this evening as a nice way to relax. Great subtle jasmine flavor :)

I received one of these cute mini tuochas from Stephanie. Thank you!

I logged onto TeaVivre’s site before brewing this and didn’t find any brewing instructions. I didn’t think to check Steepster as half the time folks do not add steeping paramters, at least I know I don’t. I brewed the first infusion of this up at 212. It was wonderful. It was light hints of Jasmine, mixed with a slight tang. The next cup I did the same and let it steep a bit longer and the cup really had a bite to it. Oops! I then got onto Steepster and saw that some folks were using 180 degree water. The rest of the infusions were done with this temperature. It offered some lovely tangy Jasmine. This was so nice. It wasn’t the heavy scented Jasmine that I am use to. The Jasmine really blended with the tea. I really enjoyed this one!

Just as I had expected, my son and his girlfriend were eager to try some new pu-erh teas tonight. This seems to have become a tradition now for family gatherings. They have never had a sheng that I can recall and have asked me to order some puerh for them during this sale, so I am having them sample a number of my teas on hand to see what else they would like.

Even though it is their first sheng, they are drinking it heartily and really like it. We have made about one liter of tea from one little tuo cha. I think they are very interested in having more of this one.

I am tasting very little of the jasmine tonight, perhaps because of how I stored it. I will have to remember that. What I am tasting is a nice young sheng, and we remarked that it would be a wonderful tea for clearing the palate after a meal, especially after Asian buffet takeout.

Now we move on to some shu!

This sample came from Teavivre, thank you!

I was skeptical initially but this is some pretty nice tea! After a quick rinse I steeped my tuo in a glass mug. I was worried about using my yixing since I didn’t want it to pick up a lot of jasmine flavor.

The package instructions said to steep this for 3 – 5 minutes but I was skeptical about letting it go that long. I steeped mine for 2 minutes in boiling water. This stuff is very interesting. I got a golden yellow infusion and the jasmine notes are more upfront and would definitely fall into the “subtle” category, which is good for me. I don’t like overly strong jasmine. Later in the sip you pick up the more vegetal notes of the tea and the typical “bite”, slightly bittersweet of the raw puerh. Seems like this is a tea made for drinking now and not really aging, I don’t know. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a jasmine bing cha, or even a brick.

Anyway I was not made for sheng this early in the morning… the tea, although not too strong, has made my stomach slightly ill. This is an effect I often get from raw pu. I don’t know that I will get to re-steep this today but I look forward to experimenting a bit more with the 2nd sample I have.

Thank you again, Teavivre….

I wish I had read Stephanie’s review just before preparing this one. I used boiling water per the label instructions. The first cup I went one minute. The color was light caramel and the taste was like sipping water poured over stones, with a light jasmine note up front. The second cup, also boiling, at two minutes was bright orange. Wow, the young raw leaf had a strong bite. I wish I had used cooler water. The liquor is almost syrupy, including sticky lips. The taste is nutty, and vegetal, with a nice floral jasmine that I think is more aroma than taste. This had an interesting throat warming sensation that was not the hot liquid or a spiciness. Can’t explain it better. Except for the bitterness, that I ended up taming with sweetener, this is a really interesting cup. Cup three was very similar. Next time this gets cooler water to hold down the bite. Otherwise really good.

Stephanie, I haven’t forgotten you – just can’t stay home long enough to get a package wrapped and out. I will try hard to get it done this week.

I picked up 50g of this on the Anniversary Sale. I wish I had taken a gamble and ordered more than that, because this is really good!!!

I find the jasmine scent and taste nice and strong, and the sheng sweet and clear. I am interested to see how the re-steeps will taste. I am impressed though, I love jasmine green tea and sheng makes total sense to add jasmine to. Recommended!