Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: brown, large and twisted
Ingredients: puerh tea
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: Teavana Perfect Steeper
Liquor: very dark brown
This tea is part of +Adagio Teas‘ Masters Collection. The leaves were loose rather than compressed and had very different appearance than I had been expecting. They were mostly whole and had a needle-like shape. It’s unusual to see that in a cooked puerh. The taste was very earthy but mellow and smooth at the same time. Top soil after a spring rain and dark roasted coffee both came to mind. There was hardly any astringency, even when it was accidentally over steeped on the second round (oops!). A tea like this would usually have some unpleasant fishiness but there wasn’t any to be found. Puerh can be really scary for beginners and this one is just non-offensive enough to be a great starting point. That being said, it is very expensive for what you get. If you have the budget (or a gift certificate to burn through) then I’d say go for it. A sample is $12 and will get you about ten cups of tea.
Yunnan Pu Erh Gold sample provided by Adagio Teas.