My second Puerh tea session - that's more like it...

[alexo]

My first session with cooked Puerh was terrible but I just received the samplers I ordered and had to try one of the older ones. I picked 2000 bulk mini Puerh cake. After draining the first steep, the color was dark reddish brown, the scent was sweet-earthy.

The taste of the second steep (15 seconds) was pronounced tea, earth/nutty and surprisingly sweet as if Stevia leaves were added...it's very smooth with nothing offensive and gave the impression of thin oil which I find nice.

Third steep (15 seconds) smelled a little fishy! The taste added a weak green note but the sweetness is still there.

Forth steep - steeped for around 20 seconds, the color was brighter, taste was a little fruity (couldn't identify but reminded of dried prunes or dates) and a bit of tang/sour note that complemented nicely the overall sweetness.
This was probably the best steep.

Having no experience with Puerh tea, I didn't quite know what to expect. While I'm not overwhelmed by the taste, this session went much better than the first one so I'm looking forward for the next sessions with the other samples.

 

[ouch]

Most mini tuos/cakes are ghastly. Yuck. I'd avoid them like the plague.

Rules of thumb-
A pu'er can come from a famous factory and still stink.
A crappy pu'er with some age is just a crappy old pu'er.
Most no name brands are suspect (if you're lucky).


If you're just starting out, I'd suggest sticking with readily available, known recipes from established factories. You want to minimize the variables while you're getting a handle on brewing it, which is an art unto itself.

 

[alexo]

Thanks ouch.
I have another 7 samples to go, most or all of which are samples broken off big cakes so I hope they'll turn out better.

 

[alexo]

My curiosity got the better of me so I just tried 2003 Spring Banzhang.
Second steep: 15 seconds.
The color is a little darker than regular tea. The scent and taste are nonexistent - I could have just drank hot water with nothing in it...

Third steep: 20 seconds.
The scent is a little smokey but still tasteless.....NEXT....

2006 Gotheborg Silver Tip 7360
Second steep: 15 seconds
Color is brighter than the previous sample. Scent is weak classic tea. The taste is of strong tea only slightly bitter (which I like). Unimpressive.

Third steep: 15 seconds
Oh boy, someone turned on the volume on that bitterness. It's like bitter almonds extract. I can't see myself actually paying for a cake made with these leaves although I do appreciate bitter tastes.

While the header of the thread says "that's more like it", it just means the last samples weren't pure garbage, just not good enough to purchase.

2003 Chen's reserve confused
Second steep: 15 seconds
Color - regular tea. The is hardly noticeable fruity-smokey tea. Tastes bitter and slightly green and earthy.

Third steep: 23 seconds
Darker color, odd scent hard to describe, Nutty, chemical, bitter taste
Even if I added sugar to this one, it would still be terrible. Chen must have reserved this one to get rid of his guests.

2008 Premium Bingdao Arobor
Second steep: 15 seconds
Scent slightly sweet, reminds me of my old Nike shoes from the late 70's . The taste is slightly sweet, green, nutty but not for me.

Third steep: 20 seconds
Scent getting interesting with some spicy smoke.
The taste is still like before.

Did I mention it's getting depressing?

2007 Dayi Bamboo wrapped brick
Second steep: 15 seconds
Tastes slightly nutty but mostly bitter.

Third steep: 30 seconds, must change something as it gets repetitive
Color is golden/orange. Taste is just bitter, slightly nutty and not for consumption by normal people.

2007 Douji Eco ancient tree
Second steep: 15 seconds
Red-brown color. Scent is slightly rubbery, smokey tea. Taste is bitter nut at best.

Third steep: tasted a little after 15 seconds and than after 30...straight to the sink!

Last sample for today - a Kylin Puerh cake - I bought a small cake and I don't even know what year is it from. Broke it carefully to pieces, washed the yixing pot and filled with a leaves...

Second steep: 15 seconds
Color is very dark red-brown. Smells stronger than any of the previous samples. Doesn't taste like tea, slightly sweet, bitter and maybe cooked through root (like celery).

Third steep: 25 seconds
Color is really beutifull dark-red-brown. In the cup it almost looks like coke. The scent is rubbery. Tastes slightly nutty but mostly nothing at all. All looks and no substance.

I use a yixing pot and my water comes from the faucet through two carbon filters installed right on the water line so I get no chlorine or find any accumulation in my electric pot.

I could add sugar to the last sample and drink it but it doesn't make much sense to purchase now that I know how it tastes.
I can't understand stores that carry these teas knowing their customers won't return again. To say I have no trust in Puerh would be a sugar coated understatement.

 

[netsurfr]

Welcome to the world of pu-erh, Alexo.
I have a few observations for you.
First it seems like you are stopping at the third infusion from your notes above. The tea is just starting to open up at the third infusion. Most pu-erh should be able to go 15 infusions or more while you gradually increase the infusion times to bring out the flavor profile.

Next, I note that you are using a Yixing pot. These are a little more tricky to control the infusion than a Gaiwan but only a little. You should understand that the infusion time includes the time that it takes to pour the tea out of the Yixing. This time is 10-12 seconds depending on the Yixing. So what does that mean? Your first infusion is usually only 10-15 seconds so you should begin emptying your Yixing as soon as you fill it on the first infusion. For the next infusion, you will only let your tea sit in your Yixing another 2-5 seconds depending on how it came out in the first drinkable infusion after rinsing. Bottom line, include the time that it takes to pour off the tea in your calculations. If your tea is too bitter, use less time. If it does not have enough substance use more time. There are no hard and fast rules.

Next, you may want to consider a Gaiwan for greater control of the infusion times and to get the true taste of the individual tea. The porcelain does not absorb and retain tastes from previous tea sessions like the clay of the Yixing. Not slamming Yixing pots, I use them all the time and have them dedicated to specific tea types.

Hope this may have been helpful. Again, welcome to the world of pu-erh!
Keep up informed about how your experience progresses.

 

[alexo]

Thanks netsurfr. You're right about stopping at the third infusion as I read many articles here and elsewhere (including the leaf) and it seems the third infusion is the best or close to it so if it's still not tasty, I assumed there was no point to continue. Since the tastes are mostly hardly noticeable, I went for the 15 seconds infusion so I couldn't imagine having any taste at shorter times but I'll try it.
I still have some samples and a small cake - which do you think is worth exploring for, say, 8 infusions? I admit none of them makes me thirsty but I'm prepared to give one of them another chance.

 

[Proinsias]

Have you tried any aged pu'er?

Something with ten or twenty years on in might be worth trying.

You may just not be keen on young sheng, I drink it as a sort of curiosity as opposed to drinking for enjoyment as I would something aged a little or most other teas.

 

[alexo]

The oldest I have is from 2000. I don't know what kind of taste I should get since all I've been getting from my samples is at best, rubber, earth, bitter almonds and very weak notes of tea. I did try a 4th a 5th infusions with shorter times and it did taste more agreeable but still far from simple regular tea so obviously something isn't right.

 

[thanks]

Sounds to me like you're using too much leaf.

 

[Proinsias]

The oldest I have is from 2000. I don't know what kind of taste I should get since all I've been getting from my samples is at best, rubber, earth, bitter almonds and very weak notes of tea. I did try a 4th a 5th infusions with shorter times and it did taste more agreeable but still far from simple regular tea so obviously something isn't right.

I wouldn't really count the mini tuo's as they are generally quite poor, and possibly cooked. It might be worth having a look at samples of aged stuff from Hou De or Nada. Although aged pu'er isn't the cheapest. As someone said elsewhere recently: money can buy time.

One of the reasons I drink pu'er is to get as far away from simple, regular tea as possible. Something just isn't right about drinking simple, regular tea. If you're looking for something closer to simple, regular tea then pu'er may not be the best place to look.

 

[alexo]

I wouldn't really count the mini tuo's as they are generally quite poor, and possibly cooked. It might be worth having a look at samples of aged stuff from Hou De or Nada. Although aged pu'er isn't the cheapest. As someone said elsewhere recently: money can buy time.

One of the reasons I drink pu'er is to get as far away from simple, regular tea as possible. Something just isn't right about drinking simple, regular tea. If you're looking for something closer to simple, regular tea then pu'er may not be the best place to look.

Thanks for the links. I haven't encountered those before.

I was intrigued by Puerh because of the idea it might be more complex and interesting than regular tea. I'll try and experiment with timing and quantity more but I just can't see how it's going to change dramatically the taste into something worth buying in quantity. Oh well, back to the lab.

 

[alexo]

Two sessions later with two different samples...still nothing. I reduced the amount of leaves, tried quicker infusion times and just couldn't get anything. So I turned to a Japanese tea I have which says 3-5 minutes of infusion but did only half a minute. What a taste?! roasted nuts, full bodied, almost like coffee compared to the Puerh.

My only guess is that something happen in storage to the Puerh, maybe the tea was subjected to cold temperatures for long period of time? maybe that could have caused it to lose taste?

 

[arghblech]

Two sessions later with two different samples...still nothing. I reduced the amount of leaves, tried quicker infusion times and just couldn't get anything. So I turned to a Japanese tea I have which says 3-5 minutes of infusion but did only half a minute. What a taste?! roasted nuts, full bodied, almost like coffee compared to the Puerh.

My only guess is that something happen in storage to the Puerh, maybe the tea was subjected to cold temperatures for long period of time? maybe that could have caused it to lose taste?

Puerh will require lots of practice and patience. We are on the road less travelled by. It isn't for everyone and it could just be that this road is not your road.

 

[Scotto]

Its possible you don't like pu'er. A couple of other considerations: try it in something other than Yixing, and make sure that you are separating the leaves (without breaking, if possible). It sounds to me like you are brewing a chunk that just isn't loosening. Also, for me those are all barely average teas you are drinking, but YMMV of course. Good luck, and let us know how the journey goes.

 

[alexo]

Thanks Scotto. I watched as many Puerh related videos on Youtube as I could find so I know about breaking apart the leaves without actually breaking them.

Since none of the samples worked for me, I want to hope there's nothing wrong with me but with the source.

I'll try a session or two without he yixing and report back. It's definitely worth a try, thanks.

 

[alexo]

I wonder - if you smell a cake of Puerh, are you suppose to smell anything?
Mine barely smell at all except the small cake (100g) that has a weak but distinct sweet tea.

I used my stainless milk cup in the picture used for foaming and a stainless filter so it's kind of like stainless gaiwan. After throwing the leaves and inserting the filter inside I can pour tea out while holding the filter in place with a finger and it keeps the leaves inside.

I tried two samples, broke them to pieces and it improved the taste quite a bit.

Anyone has any idea why the yixing pot spoils the tea by such a degree?

I thought yixing break-in takes a few sessions but now I wonder how long before I can use it safely?

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Yixing teapots are a porous clay that will retain a layer of the oils and tannins from previous batches of tea. This is the reason why they should be used with a dedicated tea of choice. I.e. use one pot for dragonwell, another for keemun, etc. This gives a mellowing effect to the tea brewed in the pot, but running different kinds of tea in it will muddy the flavor.

A glass or porcelain gai wan will be better for individual tastings. I personally use an yixing, but only for non-cake pu erh.

 

[alexo]

The only teas I used in the yixing are Puerh. Do you mean I should dedicate each yixing to a factory or specific area growing/making Puerh tea? (I'm not familiar with dragonwell or keemun)

 

[netsurfr]

No, what he means is that you should use one pot for green pu-erh, one pot for ripe pu-erh. While some folks have a number of Yixing pots, I don't think anyone has one for each pu-erh factory. Well, maybe some may have a pot for every factory but it is not considered necessary.

 

[pb2q]

Anyone has any idea why the yixing pot spoils the tea by such a degree?

Bad clay spoils tea. Rinse your yixing, boil some water, add the water to the pot and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Pour the water into a cup. Smell the emptied steamy teapot. Taste the water. Does anything seem off?

I have a yixing from a reputable vendor that just makes everything sour, with a chemical taste. Using the above process the defect is obvious.