Pu Erh Dante

I am officially, certifiably crazy. I tried this about a year ago, and it’s been one of the VERY few (only?) teas I couldn’t even get past the 1st sip. But I’ve decided to get back into pu erhs again, and I’ve already had major success w/ Numi’s bagged version of their chocolate pu erh. I decided to use some of the frequent cup points I’ve banked to buy this and their pu erh poe so if I don’t like it, I only paid $0.75 to top off shipping. Now since I bought both and already hated this one once, you’d think I’d try the other one 1st. But nope. I want to conquer my fears.

It’s the middle of winter, so the tins were VERY cold. I smelled it right away and was shocked. Last time, the aroma of the raw leaves were that of a septic tank leak and almost made me vomit. But this time, they are much more faint. While there is the deep, complex aroma typical of black teas w/ a hint of earthiness and maybe even a touch of fecality, it’s nothing like I remember.

The preparation is also vastly different this time. Last time I steeped 1tsp (1.88g) in 6oz boiling water for 5 min. This time I went to Carolyn for advice. She suggested using 1g per 1oz water (I made a 4oz cuppa), rinsing the leaves in boiling water for 15sec, then doing a 20sec 1st steep. The only deviation I made from this was that I just just below boiling water for both the rising and the steeping because I wanted to preserve the health benefits.

I’m shocked at how dark the rinsing liquid gets… I almost cry as I dump it. But if adding this step is necessary for authentic preparation and a better cuppa, then that’s what I’ll do.

The 1st infusion is also very dark. Coffeeish. The aroma is like a lot of black teas: deep, complex, and earthy. I take a sip praying my gag reflex won’t kick in. And I’m pleasantly surprised. While it is deep, complex, and earthy just like the aroma… it does not taste like my worst enemy shoved me face 1st into a cow pie!

I am not a black tea person per se, but I am fairly certain that a person who is and prepares this tea using Carolyn’s recommendations will be quite satisfied.

Sipdown no. 110 of the year 2014. My inaugural use of the Yixing pot!

It may not have been the best choice because I had very little left, not really enough to fill the 140 ml pot to one third or so. But I chose it because I had tasted it fairly recently and remembered what it tasted like well enough to compare the taste from the porcelain gaiwan to the clay pot.

This is a fascinating experiment in so many ways. First, there’s a definite effect on the taste of the tea. Though the tea is underleafed and a little watery tasting, it is also somewhat rounder than I recall it tasting before. So the clay is doing something. I just can’t tell how much of the taste difference is because of the underleafing or whether some of it is the pot drawing flavor into the clay. The little pot pours fast and very evenly! I expected to taste some clay, but I don’t really.

I got a little worried when I did the “clink” test on the pot because it doesn’t ring like a bell. It has a high pitched metallic clink, but not the ringing sound I heard on this Youtube video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_OoIxP5zYE

I was impressed, though, by how quickly the water I poured on the outside of the pot was absorbed into the clay rather than rolling down the sides. Really fast. And I sniffed the pot (okay it had tea in it but still) after pouring hot water over it and it really does smell like a hot rock rather than something muddy or earthy. I take all of this as signs it’s a good little pot for the price.

While I was enjoying this experience, I might have accidentally ordered another pot or two from Yunnan Sourcing.

If you don’t see me online for a while it’s because the BF has tied my hands together to keep me from ordering more teaware. He very rightly made the comment that the whole point of us drinking tea was to clear space in the house, which I’ve been filling with teaware purchases, and which can’t be sipped down. I can safely say, though, that the ratio of space taken by tea to teaware at this point is probably about ten to one at least, so I can stop now (or soon) and still come out ahead. ;-)

2/3/14 3rd and last of a pu-erh flight. 3g/100ml gaiwan/212F Washed. This tea showed well in the gaiwan, and was easily my favorite tea in this tasting. The dry leaf had a pleasant earthy / barny aroma, the wet leaf had the same nice scent but stronger, and the brewed tea carried the same flavors in an enjoyable very earthen tasting way. IT was very nice to taste this tea in context with other pu-erhs. I’m coming to think that Dante is a good classic beginner’s pu-erh. I sort of think I might order a sample of it, to see how the (presumably) younger Dante fresh from the shop would compare to my current several years old tin, which is (presumably) better for having some age on it.

I can’t pronounce the name of this tea for the life of me, but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it! Steeped for an extra minute today, and I’m not sure if it unlocked an extra something special or what, but it was delicious! Smokey tones, a rich, dark color, and an earthy/smokey aroma combine to form a potent black tea that can easily be enjoyed by itself on a cold, damp morning.

MY FIRST PU ERH YEAHHH! This one was also quite a bit smokey I guess? NOT AS MUCH as the lapsang but still very earthy and smooth! It’s another one I’d like to try again sometime; in fact I’d really like to get a better taste of pu erh in general. ANYBODY HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?

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.

Got this as a sample from Adagio. The leaves are a dark tan with red tones. It is not as dark as most pu-erh teas I have tried. I steeped it for 2.5 min in a large Adagio tea cup and infuser.

The color of the liquor reminds me of a lightly brewed coffee.The aroma of the tea is musty, earthy, almost salty fish aroma we love of the pu-erh teas. The flavor is not a strong robust flavor I am aquanted to with pu-erh tea. This has a slightly sweet mild flavor.

Its not a bad pu-er, but it could use some ageing. Its like a above average teenage student that has so much potiental but lacks the time. If someone would take it under its wings and be patient with it, greatness could come through.

In conclusion,
Adagios pu-erh dante is not a bad pu-erh tea, but really needs to be stored away for a while to mature to what it could be. If you are looking for a quick pu-erh it is not bad and I could reccoment it. It could be a gateway drug into the world of pu-erh.

This was my first experience with Pu Erh tea, and my first time hating something I tried from Adagio. I’m glad I went with the sample size, because I actually ended up throwing this one at (another first). I got a little worried when I opened the tin and was hit with a rather fishy smell. But I was hoping the taste would be different. It really wasn’t. Earthy is fine, I usually like earthy. Fishy, however, I don’t like.

After enjoying the Nor Sun puerh a lot a friend recommended that I try Adagio’s Pu Erh Dante thinking I would like it which is coming full circle for me as Dante was the first puerh that I had years ago. Brewing it I can tell that this one is more like a traditionally stored puerh, although it falls a bit short of the Nor Sun in my opinion. It has deep earthy taste to it but it lacks the bit of mellow sweetness edge to it that comes along with a good earthy puerh in the earlier infusions. Although to its credit it does pick up some sweetness or at least the earthiness fades enough to balance it out by the 3rd infusion.

The first pu’erh tea I tried that wasn’t flavored, and the one that will always have my heart. Oh, Dante, how I love thee.
Being one of those weird people who finds comfort in the off-putting smell of pu’erhs (my last order of Dante, from what I can recall, smelt like a combination of fish and wet hay), I never pre-rinse the leaves before enjoying a cup. I do 1-2 teaspoons in my teapot, cover the leaves with boiling water, and steep anywhere from 7-15 minutes.
The color is a rich, dark, reddish-brown, and the earthy/fishy smell is overwhelming (in a good way, and only if you steep it for as long as I do) when you first take a sip. One of my favorite things about the tea is that, no matter how short or how long you steep it for, it never gets bitter—though I guess that holds true for most pu’erhs. It’s a very dark tea with a rich, full-bodied flavor that pleases the palette and goes well with just about any meal: pre, during, or post.
I find Dante more enjoyable than it’s Poe counterpart, as well as Rishi’s Tuo Cha cakes, due to the lack of “sweet” overtone that overpowers the earthy flavors in the others. Dante, as mentioned before and by many reviewers above me, is dark, yet complex and mellow all-in-one. I recommend it for coffee drinkers looking for a suitable tea replacement, and to anyone looking to try pu’erh teas.

Head’s up: your significant other will more-than-likely hesitate to kiss you after you drink it if they’re not fans of pu’erhs. :)