Dec 26
Geoff’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "I took my first sip. It was deep, smooth and smoky - like I expected - a coastal bonfire of bravado. And like it's elder, loose leaf cousins, it lasted several steepings too."
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8.5/10
I promised myself I wouldn't go there.I'd notched off several categories, fusions, blends, tinctures, and self-made mucks. But I made a vow a couple of years ago that I wouldn't enter the realm of pu-erh. First off, the name made me giggle. Second, it was the the next bold step into tea snobbery, referring to "varietals" and "vintages". Having seen wine-folk do it, I wasn't sure I wanted to be one of the tea-folk who did. This hope lasted for awhile. I tried my first cooked pu-erh and hated it. Victory was mine.
Le sigh.
That didn't last long. I did my first old growth, five-year-aged tea on a whim; shelled out twelve bucks for a gong fu ceremony set of the stuff at a tearoom. And I LOVED it - all rich, smoky, seven steeps of it. From there, I was doomed. Snob session complete. I even turned my nose up to the very thought of cooked pu-erh or "shoucha". Leave it to a brand name like Numi to both knock me down a peg and prove me wrong.
In an unassuming brown tea bag, some black pu-erh waited. The bag itself smelled like a seashore. For the sake of some ounce of elitism, I prewashed the bag. I have no idea why I did this, perhaps I wanted to treat it like a normal pu-erh. Why not? It deserved that much of a fighting chance. Afterwards, I put it through my usual bagged tea treatment; unassuming styrofoam coffee cup at work, plastic bowl for cover, pre-heated water, and a guesstimated wait time.
During the prewash, I watched as a thick black cloud seeped from the bag and bonded with the water. After the five-minute(ish) wait, I took my first sip. It was deep, smooth and smoky - like I expected - a coastal bonfire of bravado. And like it's elder, loose leaf cousins, it lasted several steepings too. Color didn't fade until Cup # 3.
A quick and hearty heated beverage.
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Geoff Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Geoff's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Geoff. |
June 1st, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Numi Emperor Puerh Tea has a mellow, smooth buttery flavor. The better of the Chocolate Puerh and Magnolia Puerh. Numi Mint Puerh not available for purchase. The Emperor Puerh also tastes yummy after its cooled to room temperature or even chilled. The Puerh tea flavor resonates and is robust in hot, room and cold temperatures.
My Rating:
8/10