Pu-erh
Pu-erh tea is another variant of tea from China. While most teas are considered best when they are fresh, this is an exception. Older teas are considered better, and are more expensive. How is this, you ask? Pu-erh is a tea that is aged with bacteria. The longer the bacteria work, the better the flavor (so connoisseurs say).
I was a little nervous about trying this kind of tea. It is the tea world's equivalent to stinky cheese. I didn't want to spend $12 on a bag of this stuff, and as luck had it, I found some in the bulk spice section of the local health food co-op. Gee, it seems like I have written this before... It wasn't until I had already scooped it out and had my bag prepared for checkout that I realized that I was in the jar of 4 year old tea. At least that's what the label said. It could be several years older depending on how long it had sat on the shelf. The reason this made me nervous is that I've been told that beginners really want to start with tea that is a year old as it gets funkier with time. Oh well, I bought it, so I'm trying it.
Here it is in my gaiwan. I figured that I might as well go for an authentic brew. This particular type of tea needs to be rinsed at least once (usually several times) before brewing to drink. Low quality pu-erh is said to have a "marine air". This means that it often has a fishy odor. If you smell that, rinse your tea until it goes away.
I added water, and waited.
No fishy scent.
I still rinsed it another time to make sure. Still, it didn't smell too funky. This might be okay.
I got brave, and made a batch for drinking. The verdict is that it tasted fine! The smell, color, and texture were a little different from what I was used to, but it is a good brew. Apparently I stumbled across a high quality pu-erh by accident. It was a pleasant surprise, and now I don't have to be so hesitant about trying pu-erh teas in the future.
I was a little nervous about trying this kind of tea. It is the tea world's equivalent to stinky cheese. I didn't want to spend $12 on a bag of this stuff, and as luck had it, I found some in the bulk spice section of the local health food co-op. Gee, it seems like I have written this before... It wasn't until I had already scooped it out and had my bag prepared for checkout that I realized that I was in the jar of 4 year old tea. At least that's what the label said. It could be several years older depending on how long it had sat on the shelf. The reason this made me nervous is that I've been told that beginners really want to start with tea that is a year old as it gets funkier with time. Oh well, I bought it, so I'm trying it.
Here it is in my gaiwan. I figured that I might as well go for an authentic brew. This particular type of tea needs to be rinsed at least once (usually several times) before brewing to drink. Low quality pu-erh is said to have a "marine air". This means that it often has a fishy odor. If you smell that, rinse your tea until it goes away.
I added water, and waited.
No fishy scent.
I still rinsed it another time to make sure. Still, it didn't smell too funky. This might be okay.
I got brave, and made a batch for drinking. The verdict is that it tasted fine! The smell, color, and texture were a little different from what I was used to, but it is a good brew. Apparently I stumbled across a high quality pu-erh by accident. It was a pleasant surprise, and now I don't have to be so hesitant about trying pu-erh teas in the future.
Gotta love bulk bins!
ReplyDeleteI was catching up on Marc Maron's podcast, and he was talking about how he likes to check out miniature toiletries to relax. I realized that I knew the feeling, that's how i feel about the bulk bins.
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