Because I most often write about the experience of tea I don't often get asked to review tea. I am always surprised when a company contacts me and offers to send tea to review. Recently a fairly new company (2019) contacted me from China and asked me to review some teas. They have quite a long list of greens, which I don't drink; so I said not to send me green teas. They also have oolongs, black, and a long list of puerh teas.
There were three teas to taste and enjoy this past week. An oolong (da hang pao), a raw puerh (Guihua 2018), and Phoenix black classic S8 JD01.
The Da Hang Pao oolong was steeped in a gaiwan and came out a beautiful clean, golden color on the first brew. With each sequential steep it lightened. I steeped the tea 6 times. It would be a nice winter oolong with a slight smokey flavor, full leaf, fragrant, and quite peaceful on a early morning sip.
The Raw Puerh (Guihua 2018) was also steeped in a gaiwan and held up quite nicely with 7 steeps. The fragrance and the taste told me "Yes" this is a puerh. It was sort of an earthy, down on the ground scent and flavor, like a walk through the spongy, mossy, and damp undergrowth in the forest. If you don't know, puerh teas are quite good for cutting fat and lowering cholesterol, one that was recommended to me many years ago. I can even sleep well after sipping this late in the day, even though there is caffeine.
The Phoenix black classic S8 JD01 was steeped English style. It had a clear red/orange color and a clean taste. The fragrance for me is like the after taste of a citrus, slightly smokiness. Most might not get this explanation, but it is the closest to what I can relate it to. This is a tea I would choose for a morning breakfast tea and I quite enjoy.
Natural Puerh company was established in April 2019 located in Kunming which is the capital city of Yunnan, China. You can visited their website and see the wide selection of puerh and other teas at www.naturalpuerh.com
I find it is always worth tasting and sipping, as I learn more about tea with each sip. I enjoyed the sips.
What a wonderful experience to be able to try something different.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't know the first thing about reviewing tea -- which seems infinitely more complicated than just drinking tea! How fun -- and new tea to you, too!
ReplyDeleteThoroughly enjoyed your descriptive tasting notes for these teas. What really caught my attention was the fact that you are able to drink a puerh late into the evening. Since I usually shy away from any teas with caffeine after 1:00, I wonder if I would also be able to drink this later in the day?
ReplyDeleteVERY fun, Marilyn... I really enjoyed you review of the teas! They sound delicious! :) ((HUGS))
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely an expert when it comes to tea tasting Marilyn! I just drink and either like or dislike - but I love pretty packaging!
ReplyDeletePeople who is interested in our teas would add our IG: _naturalpuerh
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