I went ahead and prepared this one before reading Cofftea’s note. I was supposed to rinse the leaves? Whoops. The only other Pu-erh I’ve ever had is Maiden’s Ecstasy by Samovar, and I had to rinse those, so I guess I should’ve known.
The smell is fishy, like how Maiden’s Ecstasy was. It is a very dark brown color, almost like coffee. It tastes like dirt, and not in a good way. I’m going to abstain from rating this one because I didn’t prepare it the right way. I’ll try it again another time and then give it a proper rating.
I’ve had the Dante before and I agree that it’s not the most flavorful of teas and certainly not representative of puerhs in general. My recommendation: near boiling water, 10-25 seconds per infusion.