Sheng Pu-erh

Pu-erh tea: the wine of teas.  I know by now that some of you know what Pu-erh is based on my article on Chinese Mythology: The Legend of Pu-erh.  But those of you who had not read it, here’s a quick rehash as to the 101 on Pu-erh tea:

Pu-erh is characterized by the fact that it is packed into tight, hard cakes and allowed to go through an aging process of fermentation (very similar to wine) for a determined amount of time based on the taste and texture that the tea producer wants (also similar to wine!)

There are two main types of Pu-erh tea based on their characters.  Today we are going to talk about Sheng Pu-erh:

Sheng Pu-erh is also known as raw and green Pu-erh tea (Chinese: 生茶; pinyin: shēngchá or Chinese: 青茶;  pinyin: qīngchá)

.  There are two types of Sheng that are solely based on whether or not they are completely post-fermented or not.  For this type of tea, the longer it is aged, the more complete the polyphenols saccharomyces and non-saccharomyces oxidations are.

In fact, there are those that liken Sheng Pu-erh to simple green tea (with a few notable differences)

Sheng is normally left in the sun to dry naturally.  However if the weather is not permitting then the tea producers will continue this process but through light heating.  This is not done lightly as it can affect the quality of the tea.  Afterwards the tea is pan fried in a wok to stop any natural oxidation from occurring.  Then the leaves are rolled and rubbed to be shaped, dried again and then finally placed into stone molds to give them that characteristic Pu-erh ‘shape.’

What do you all think? I would like to try this Pu-erh.  I know that it would have the similar ‘grassy’ flavor of a green tea…but the shapes must be fun, too.  Right?

Morning Cup is a daily segment where I post what I am drinking this morning with a quick pic of my beverage and some initial thoughts. These posts are not thorough reviews, and haven’t been put through my standard review process.

A little late posting this morning.

I’ve been so busy at the office recently, bagged teas have become more convenient. Today, I tapped into an Emperor’s Pu’erh from Numi Tea.

The cup brews smooth. The aroma is easy and the palate texture is earthy but without grit. From a tea bag, this is a nice cup.

Morning Cup #10

What’s in your cup?

This is the fifth and final entry in a series of posts on Numi Teas’ new Pu-erh Iced Teas.

After the Organic Mango Pu-erh, the Organic Jasmine Pu-erh the Organic Mint Pu-erh and the Organic Earl Grey Pu-erh I reviewed in the past few days, this iced Organic Classic Pu-erh is a continuation in the impressive collection Numi seems to be putting together with these iced pu-erh teas. And that’s no joke at this point. So far, four bottled teas, and four winners by my taste.

Numi Organic Classic Pu-erh

The liquor appears an almost opaque amber-black, but it’s difficult to tell through the bottle the color is so dark.

As with most iced teas the aroma on this one is pretty weak. You’ve got to be right up on it to smell it. The limitation here appears to be physics. Aroma just doesn’t carry as well in a cold climate.

The earthy textures common to pu’erh teas come out here. There’s some gritty earthen natural flavors playing on the palate. Some hints at honey and chocolate in the body.

This tea has some medium astringency in the tail and does cause some light dryness of the palate. This particular tea is not as subtle as the rest.

Fans of Pu-erh or CTC style (fine grain) black teas might enjoy this iced beverage. Because of its more subtle nature when iced, those who don’t typically enjoy Pu-erh as much might still want to give this one a try.

This is the fourth in a series of posts on Numi Teas’ new Pu-erh Iced Teas.

After the Organic Mango Pu-erh, the Organic Jasmine Pu-erh and the Organic Mint Pu-erh I reviewed in the past few days, this iced Organic Earl Grey Pu-erh is a continuation in the impressive collection Numi seems to be putting together with these iced pu-erh teas. And that’s no joke at this point. So far, four bottled teas, and four winners by my taste.

Numi Organic Earl Grey Pu-erh

The cloudy liquor is definitely reassuring in the bottle. It’s a very deep copper bronze with just a bit of sedimentation. As mentioned in prior reviews, this should be expected with natural or organic bottled teas. Pretty much all teas of this nature suggest shaking the bottle profusely before drinking.

This particular iced pu-erh stands above the others Numi provided me. As soon as I opened the bottle the aroma was clearly discernible. It was actually so pleasing I just let it sit for a few moments to soak it in before drinking.

The liquor of this tea is very smooth. I’d actually put it’s texture along the lines of a milk tea. Creamy and rich. The flavor is full of bergamot (the orangish fruit which gives Earl Grey its flavor.) I did note some grittiness from the pu-erh, but not as much as I’d expected.  The pu-erh seems overpowered by the oil of bergamot. This is the only reason I didn’t give the flavor a 4 out of 5.

This tea has some light astringency in the tail, however, due to the creamy texture it doesn’t seem to dry the palate, just the tip of the tongue.

Fans of Pu-erh or floral or milk teas might enjoy this iced beverage. Because of its more subtle nature when iced, those who don’t typically enjoy Pu-erh as much might still want to give this one a try.

This is the third in a series of posts on Numi Teas’ new Pu-erh Iced Teas.

After the Organic Mango Pu-erh and the Organic Jasmine Pu-erh I reviewed over the weekend, this iced Organic Mint Pu-erh is a continuation in the impressive collection Numi seems to be putting together with these iced pu-erh teas.

Numi Organic Mint Pu-erh

The cloudy liquor is reassuring in the bottle. It’s a deep copper bronze with notable sedimentation. As mentioned in prior reviews, this should be expected with natural or organic bottled teas. Almost all teas of this nature suggest shaking the bottle profusely before drinking.

While most iced teas aren’t very aromatic, mint has a way of making its presence known. As soon as I opened the bottle I could smell the mint. However, as though it had been waiting to escape, the aroma dissipated quickly. After that the bottle needed to be very close to my nose for me to smell anything here.

On the palate this tea is clearly mint. More spearmint than peppermint though, which was refreshing. I was expecting more earthy tones from the pu-erh which I didn’t find. No gritty textures or mossy aftertaste either. The flavor sits nice and light on the palate. While some minty-ness does continue through the finish, there’s not so much to be overwhelming.

This tea has little to no astringency. It doesn’t dry the tongue or mouth and actually seems to whet the palate instead.

Fans of Pu-erh or floral or mint teas might enjoy this iced beverage. Because of its more subtle nature when iced, those who don’t typically enjoy Pu-erh as much might still want to give this one a try.