As I’m about to cover in a tea video on blending, I’ve never had a formal education in tea. I learnt by hanging around tea types, owning a tea shop, and drinking gallons of the stuff weekly.
A while ago, the inestimable @lahikmajoe wrote about whether it is OK for tea geeks to not like white tea, and of course, it isn’t.
However, I find myself in a bit of a bind over Pu-Er. I am supposed to like it, after all.
The first time I tried it, it sucked.
It was a Pine Tea & Coffee loose Bo-lay. Allegedly a fine tea. I hated it.
Perhaps my taste had something to do with it. I”m an unashamed sub-continental tea drinker, and a black drinker to boot. I’d rather drink a Mokalbari Assam, straight up, than anything else. If I have a choice between a green and a Lapsang Souchong, I’ll pick the latter 99% of the time.
In fact. I don’t drink that much green. I really like whites – I have a Sow Mee thing going on right now -and there are greens I adore, but generally, I go either side of them to a light white or luscious rich black.
I have had a few goes with Pu-Er since that first time, with mixed results.
I think part of the problem is this:
(I”ll whisper this bit)
If you take most teas, boil your kettle, chuck the water on the leaves and wait a few minutes, you get a fair representation of that tea.
Yes, I can hear you screaming. “But my eastern-slope-grown Oingo-Boingo three-quarter fermented Emperor’s Donkey’s Golden Leg requires 67.5 seconds at 89.5 degrees Celsius in a pot made of clay from the Mongolian Steppes at 10pm on a night with a gibbous mood or it’s simply not right. And if it’s not stirred by a Kanka-Bono speaking virgin with a lisp, then you might as well have a tea bag.”
It’s that sort of thinking that lead to all sorts of silly ideas. I live for the day a wine-snob says “Well, I prefer this particular French Wine because the proximity of a forty-year-old nuclear reactor and an industrial park add delicate, gingery, industrial waste and plutonium-leakage mouth feel and a slight glow in the dark”.
So, back to Pu-Er. It seems that despite my best efforts, you really do have to follow the instructions. There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.
So, using my tea travel glass thingy I got from @maykingtea, I stuck some of the Toucha I bought for the Tea Salon Pu-Er hangout (that I accidentally drank a completely different tea at) and FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS.
It was surprisingly drinkable.
Great? NO! Life-changing? NO!
But to be fair, it was a $3 Toucha Cake from a chaotic Asian Grocer.
I think this journey has a way to go.
I’ve been trying to locate some eastern-slope-grown Oingo-Boingo three-quarter fermented Emperor’s Donkey’s Golden Leg tea for some time. Do you know where I can get some?
I can sell you some. VERY expensive.
Love the post. Waiting for more “okay” moments with Puerh and whites.
Interesting – I rather like Pu Er, but I was introduced to it at a yum cha where it was just in the standard white teapot and was continually topped up from the hot water service. I do little more with the loose-leaf variety I have at home.
Will the instructions be presented in a video? I am assuming a natty hat.
I have just shot a video, in a hat. But on another topic.
At the point of being redundant, pu-er is an acquired taste. I have had great and not so great. I prefer shou to sheng. I know this because I have kept an open mind about leaf education. I do believe preparation has something to do with the final outcome, though I am not as specific as those who are looking towards mastery of aged leaves. Let your palate be your guide. By the way are you going to be a G+ participant this week or are you gunpowder shy? 🙂
I like a nice gunpowder
I found that I had actually become fearful of pu’erh after a couple experiences with really poorly steeped tea. When I started my STI training I actually got nervous before the pu’erh cupping section. But as you experienced, when it was made correctly I finally “got it.” I have never felt compelled to choose it over something else but I don’t cringe at the thought anymore. Last weekend I was even served some on the sly by someone who wouldn’t tell me what it as. On the first sip I knew it was pu’erh but you know what? I ended up buying some to bring home. I’m going to keep trying and maybe someday…(BTW Wild Tea Qi had some lovely pu’erhs too that even attracted this non-pu’erh drinker.)
So in the end, you had to follow the instructions too?
Yes, Xavier, I suppose you are right in part. I needed to follow the instructions, but I also needed to find a good source. My biggest problem had been buying pu’erh from people who were no more knowledgeable about it than I was and that is a very scary thing.
Cool work. Keep it comin’… 🙂