Coconut Pu-erh

The stores where I live carry a very limited and standard selection of loose leaf teas (e.g., basic green, jasmine, english breakfast). So, if I want to branch out into more exciting blends, I have to order them on-line or take out a loan at the local Teavana store. The Republic of Tea on-line collection has some of the most imaginative flavors around at reasonable prices. The Coconut Pu-erh tea sounded like it was right up my alley- bold, black, and sweet- all of my favorite attributes.

I steeped this tea at 212 degrees for five minutes. While brewing, the scent that filled the kitchen was like an Almond Joy bar. It made me concentrate to try to will the tea maker to process faster.

Sometimes the teas smell great and sweet but the flavor is flat and expressionless. Not so with this little gem! The flavor is exactly as advertised by the aroma. It is sweet and wonderful, more like a dessert tea than a breakfast stimulator. The usually dominant pu-erh taste follows merrily behind the sweet coconut flavor leader. The color is like dark mahogany.

This tea would be fantastic to sip at all times during the day. For me it had the double benefit of waking me up and satisfying my sweet tooth. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I have already added this selection to my “Don’t Run Out!!!” list.

The first time I made this tea, I found the pu-erh flavor was too strong and I couldn’t taste the coconut. There was an overwhelming bitterness. This time, I tried steeping for a shorter time (2 and a half minutes), and result is much more enjoyable. The earthy pu-erh is balanced by the subtle sweetness of the coconut. The flavors come through best after the tea has cooled a bit, and I suspect this would make a great iced tea.

I have mixed feelings about this tea. I do love the balance between the earthiness of the pu-erh and the coconut flavor. I also enjoyed the creaminess of the tea but it was a bit too sweet for me, more of a dessert tea. Would definitely recommend for those that like sweet teas.

Backlog:

I tried this tea before I joined Steepster. I won’t be trying it again. I love ripe pu-erhs, though I’ve had some bad ones. However, it was the coconut that insulted me in this one. I just don’t get it though: I love coconut on my my cakes and pastries and in candy bars and chocolates, but liquid coconut flavor does not agree with me. I had another coconut tea that, while somewhat more tolerable than this one, was still not to my liking

The first sip of this tea tastes like pu-erh, The coconut is more of an aftertaste, so I thought I liked it at first. After 4 or 5 sips, however, I realized the nasty left over flavor and felt sick to my stomach. I drank a whole bunch of water and brewed a favorite blend right away to cure me.

Incidentally, my husband likes this tea. He doesn’t drink a lot of tea and he refuses to try plain Puerh because of the smell, but he liked this one.

Delicious. I find that the steepings of this tea are limited. 3-4 steepings tops.

Steeped at boiling for five minutes.

This was a fine pu-erh by the Republic of Tea. The notes of coconut were very subtle at first, but they came through on the second steep. The coconut aroma was not too strong, which I quite liked, but perhaps a bit too subtle. Overall, some nice earthiness from this black tea.

Holidays TTB

…what..
I’ve had pu’erh before and I know I don’t like it, but …what? Maybe this is low quality pu’erh? Maybe I just had bad pu’erh before? Who knows? I only made half of a cup to try it because the coconut sounded promising. I love doing TTB’s because this is not something I ever would have picked up for myself but I really do like it.

It’s definitely not as tannic or strong as a ceylon or assam base which I enjoy, but the coconut is lacking. It’s creamy, a bit of vanilla, and it coats my mouth well (if that makes sense.) It’s generally not bland, but not the most flavorful of teas which is a nice change of pace for me.

Sample from QueenOfTarts. Thankk you!

The dry leaf smelled like juicy pina colada, but a little bit artificial. The flavor after it brews is pretty similar. It does have a pleasantly creamy mouthfeel. I’m still on the fence about this one. I think I’ll probably enjoy the sample I have, but I don’t know if I’ll be interested in buying more.

ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
May 2023 → National Eat What You Want Day

I put my sipdowns on hold last month to work through the TTB, so I have some catching up to do. This one is a favorite and makes for the perfect tea for this sipdown prompt. It’s certainly hitting the spot today.

Happy Iced Tea Day!!! I brewed this up to sit outside and enjoy the last rays of sunshine. This was delicious! The coconut goes well with the woody chocolate tones of the puerh. It almost brings out a vanilla flavor to it. I’m not sure how well this would be hot. Im really not a hot flavored tea kind of guy. This was amazing iced though. It hit the spot for an outside sweet brew. I may have been late to celebrating today, but I made it just in time!

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