Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: small, dark
Ingredients: puerh tea
Steep time: 5 minutes
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser
Liquor: very dark brown
Thanks to +Geoffrey Norman and the evil geniuses at +J-TEA I have been obsessed with the very idea of this tea. It was stored in a bourbon barrel from Buffalo Trace Distillery. Being a dark liquor and beer kind of girl and a puerh lover, I just knew that it would be right up my alley. The aroma when I first opened my packet of leaves was incredible. Given the name you might expect that this would taste just like a sip of bourbon. The taste was much more subtle than that. Isn’t that always the way it is with tea? The base cooked puerh was earthy, sweet and fairly mild. It provided the perfect stage for the oaky, smokey and bourbon-y notes to come through. The finish had an almost creamy affect that I found very interesting. In my eagerness to dig into this tea I went the easy way and used an infuser in a plain old mug. However, I foresee many sessions with a gaiwan in this tea’s future.
Bourbon Barrel Puerh purchased from J-Tea International.