Puerh

I've noticed people talking about puerh on the forum so thought I'd start a thread about it. Post your experiences with puerh. Pictures, reviews, any favourites…

I fell in love with puerh tea the first time I tasted it. I like it mostly for the taste, especially the sandalwood taste most puerhs have, but I find it helps with digestion and hopefully it's helping to build up good gut flora. I've been buying cakes and bricks from China, occasionally trying loose samples. I prefer the ripe puerh, but I have raw cakes as well. I find the raw too astringent for my tastes (but man, do they have a nice kick!).

This is my latest acquisition, I got it at a steal, a 40-year-old ripe puerh. The oldest I've had before this was 20 years old. It's darker than the younger puerhs I've had, with a reddish tone to it. It's very soft and crumbles easily. I didn't even need a knife to pry some off, just broke some off with my fingers. It didn't smell musty at all, I was afraid it might for such an old tea, it had a nice fresh tea aroma. The taste is mellower, smoother than the younger teas, with just a bit of astringency. It doesn't have much of a sandalwood taste, which I tend to prefer, but all in all a good tea.

 

Call me uncultured, I've never heard of it. I need to do some research.

 

Looks like something you would plant a tree in

 

Do look it up. It's touted as a weight loss aid (guess that sells better) but I lump that into improving digestion. I find some puerh give you a kind of euphoric feeling, I call those my drug Pu's. :-D

 

That definitely is interesting. I wonder if it has high levels of L-theanine, or if it's something else causing the euphoria.

 

Theanine doesn't have the same affect on me, it does make me more alert, but in a calming way. And it's a black tea, so it wouldn't have high levels of theanine. I don't think it's the caffeine either which can get me wired. It's a different feeling altogether. Maybe you'll find the secret ingredient in your research. You'd better get to it! :B Oops, I mean

 

Here's my last batch I received direct from China. It only took a week! Instead of the 6-8 it had been taking the last couple of years, by all reports.



It's a 12+ year aged raw Pu'ehr.
My Brother first turned me on to half a brick and I loved it, so when I found out it was on sale again ( thank you Lucy!) I was able to score a full brick. Wish I could have bought more!





This Pu 'erh definitely has the good drugs. :-D

 

Always happy to share a sale! I liked that one too, I've gone through 3 bricks. Nice buzz action.

I put in a few orders recently, while I had the time and a bit of extra money, of the raw and ripe. I'll try get to posting a few of them. I figured I'd stock up and prepared myself for the 6 to 8 week wait and they came within 2 weeks! A pleasant surprise. Maybe they speed up service closer to Christmas.

So far I've had only one that came smoke laden, smell and taste, even after airing it for a few weeks. That's a no-no for properly aged puerh. Same thing if you get a musty or one that tastes like "smelly socks" (How'd they come up with that comparison? I feel for the person who had to do that taste test!) I contacted the vendor who replaced it with a different tea. So don't hesitate to go back to the vendor if you're not satisfied. Most are very compliant and eager to please. They want their good review on eBay. ;-D

 

I found 5078 results on ebay(buy it now option). It's going to take a while for me to read through results. Lol

I'm amazed at how inexpensive it is, with as many years as some of it has been aged.

 

We'll expect a decision by Friday! :-D

I suggest trying a raw and a ripe so you can see which you like more. It's really a matter of preference, the tastes are very different. Raw is astringent with more of a clean taste, ripe is more mellow and smooth.

 

Friday it is . Maybe even earlier.

Thanks for the advice

 

Thought I'd post a bit of info about rinsing the puerh. You're supposed to rinse the tea first to open up the leaves. I don't go through the traditional rinsing technique. For one I don't have the tea paraphernalia, but frankly, I'd lose interest if I had to go through all that. I just pour boiled water over my single cup sized infuser a couple of times and let it drain into a separate cup before steeping it in my cup. But it's interesting to see how it's done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07UuDxkp9sA

This one kills me. A true Pu snob. lol Take notes, Expanse, we expect you to go through this technique for each cup of tea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpSM9cqYMIY

 

One of my packages of pu'erh arrived. I don't know if it's the raw or the ripe, as I haven't opened the mailing envelope.

I'm going to try some in a little while. I need to watch the videos again, before I attempt to make it. I want to make sure that I do this right, so that I don't strip naked and run down the street to eat someone's face.

 

That only happens with the second brewing. ;-)

We haven't talked about breaking up the brick or cake. The round cakes are usually softer, the bricks can be pretty compacted. Here's a video on how to loosen a brick. Sorry, this guy does far too much yacking but he does show how to loosen it well. I actually lay mine flat when I do it, less chance of impaling yourself. That's how I've always seen it done. I don't have a fancy pancy knife, I just use a paring knife. Not sure whether a letter opener would get through easily enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQy070Unznc

Let us know how it goes. Hopefully there won't be blood shed. :-D

 

I like it!

I actually cut the leaves off in a similar manner as did the guy in the video. I have cut coconut coir bricks the same way when made a soil mix for pepper seeds in the past. I don't have a "fancy pancy"(lol) knife either. I used my whittling knife...just kidding. I used a steak knife.

I'm going to make a second cup. I definitely need to get a tea pot. I normally make Lipton ice tea in an electric tea maker, or with teabags in a cup, lol.

I looked at my order verification email, and this is the ripe tea. My raw tea should arrive soon.

I did feel a subtle relaxation after several sips, but I think I will definitely order more because of the taste and health benefits.

Since I'm going for a second cup, I need to put on a Halloween mask for when I run down the street.

 

I actually think I feel the first cup more now.

 

Hmm, no word from expanse today. Think we should take up a collection for bail?

 

:-b

 

This is no laughing matter! How much are you putting into the kitty? I found a quarter in my pocket.

 

Save your money, he's probably in the psych ward after that major pu trip. :-D