I was feeling brave so I picked up a little bit of this last night at the grocery store. I’m a bit nervous to drink it just because of the stories I’ve heard about nasty things turning up in a pu-ehr cake. But this is loose, so I should be good and need to just get over that. No fingernails or cigarette butts to be seen.
The dry leaves smell smoky. Okay, gonna brew it anyway and just not think about what I’m drinking. While brewing, I take a sniff. Mmm, fish. Wondering if my cats might like this. While it’s pouring out, it looks red. A very deep red, but totally red. Really gorgeous. Collected in the cup, however, it is just a very dark brown. Wish I had put this in my glass cup to see if the red shows when light goes through it. Still smells a little fishy and has really attracted the attention of one of my cats. Ah, he was just distracted by the napkin I had my raisin bread on, the tea is no longer interesting…
Okay, this tastes… odd. Very smooth – beautifully so. But a smooth fish taste. Not like a pier but more like a fresh fish with a sweet glaze cooked on a grill with mesquite chips in it. This is so weird. It’s smooth and sweet and I’m really loving the sip and then I get the tail fishy/woody taste. And that just seems very non tea like so it confuses me.
I can’t decide if this is fantastic or unpleasant. Seriously, can’t even begin to rate this yet.
ETA:
2nd steep has a very sweet, dry grass/straw tastes – no more fishy.
3rd steep still has a sweet grass taste with a little earthy taste but it doesn’t have the dryness from the previous steep. So far this steep is my favorite though I still don’t know if I like this tea. While the flavor profile is changing, the overall flavor strength hasn’t decreased. This could easily be a first steep.
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Ewww…I can’t handle the fishy/seafoody smells or tastes. I’m guessing or hoping that not all pu erh’s are like this. I was about to venture, damn it!!!
Uh oh! Sorry – hope I didn’t scare you off! It’s not nasty fishy, but more fresh-grilled fishy. But yeah, it’s weird. I finished the whole cup and have no idea if I love it or hate it!
A work colleague of mine tried pu-ehr and she said it made her gag. I dismissed her reaction and tried some myself, some compressed pu-ehr from Rishi.
The taste was mildly pleasant, similar to the Yunnan teas from which its made, and the texture very smooth. However, to my Western taste buds, that earthy nuance could only be one thing — dirt. And my body was determined for me not to eat dirt, even though I knew it wasn’t dirt. Yeah, it made me gag, too.
I imagine it’s kinda what a pizza parlor must smell like to someone from rural China who’s never had pizza. What we associate as a pleasant smell, must smell like someone just got sick. I just couldn’t get over that earthy nuance.
Yeah, I think that could be my issue. I’ve left this tea unrated because I just can’t figure out if I like it or not. I think objectively it is a good tea – really smooth and sweet and has a very complex flavor. I just don’t know if I LIKE that flavor!
And now I want pizza. Mmm.
Ewww…I can’t handle the fishy/seafoody smells or tastes. I’m guessing or hoping that not all pu erh’s are like this. I was about to venture, damn it!!!
Uh oh! Sorry – hope I didn’t scare you off! It’s not nasty fishy, but more fresh-grilled fishy. But yeah, it’s weird. I finished the whole cup and have no idea if I love it or hate it!
A work colleague of mine tried pu-ehr and she said it made her gag. I dismissed her reaction and tried some myself, some compressed pu-ehr from Rishi.
The taste was mildly pleasant, similar to the Yunnan teas from which its made, and the texture very smooth. However, to my Western taste buds, that earthy nuance could only be one thing — dirt. And my body was determined for me not to eat dirt, even though I knew it wasn’t dirt. Yeah, it made me gag, too.
I imagine it’s kinda what a pizza parlor must smell like to someone from rural China who’s never had pizza. What we associate as a pleasant smell, must smell like someone just got sick. I just couldn’t get over that earthy nuance.
Yeah, I think that could be my issue. I’ve left this tea unrated because I just can’t figure out if I like it or not. I think objectively it is a good tea – really smooth and sweet and has a very complex flavor. I just don’t know if I LIKE that flavor!
And now I want pizza. Mmm.