Pu-erh tea gets its name from the region in China where it was first harvested, the city of Pu-erh in the Yunnan Province of China. Pu-erh tea is often classified as being a variety of tea by itself, and is sometimes classified at being a dark tea (dark tea is one of the six classes of tea in China), or as a type of black tea in the United States, although it is actually a variety by itself, such as green tea or white tea. Pu-erh tea is available as a loose leaf tea or in a compressed form such as tea cakes or tea bricks, or our TeaVivre miniature tea cakes.
Drinking Pu-erh Tea For Weight Loss
Pu-erh tea is a wonderful tea for weight loss. It has been known for centuries for its ability to help break down fat in the body, digest fatty foods, increase your metabolism and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. This tea is also ideal for those who are looking for long term weight loss maintenance when combined with a healthy diet. One scientific study shows that Pu-erh tea also contains polyphones which attack free radicals and toxins in the body, helping to prevent many diseases.
Where is our Puerh tea produced
Our high grade Pu-erh tea is produced as it has been historically in the Yunnan Province of China, which has been a mecca for Pu-erh tea of the highest quality for over 800 years. The Yunnan Province is on the edge of Tibet, and has a very high elevation with warm summers producing abundant rainfall which gives these tea trees especially large, plump buds and leaves which are ideal for producing a premium Pu-erh tea.
History
Pu-erh tea is one of the oldest types of tea in China, with a history stretching back over 1,700 years to the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the tea was called Jing Cha. Pu-erh is named after the town of Pu-erh in the Yunnan province of China, which was the early trading center for this tea. Pu-erh has also been used as a bartering currency or dowry in parts of China. In Southwest China the famed Cha Ma Gu Dao - “Tea Horse Road” - was built especially to transport Pu-erh tea through the Himalayas to other countries and areas in Tibet.
Gaiwan 3oz
Tea: 1p
6 steeps: rinse(10s),10s,10s,10s,15s,20s,30s
Teapot 8oz
100ºC/212ºF
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This was a very different experience for me as the only other puerhs I’ve had were all Sheng. Regardless, I went into this with a mostly open mind, and the results were pretty great. After properly washing it out a bit, I did the first true infusion, which resulted in literally black tea. The aroma was earthy, very earthy, but not in a bad way. The taste was actually much better than I expected, without a hint of the “muddy pond” taste that some lower-quality shu apparently has. It is interesting how it is a bit sweet this quickly, and it is certainly above-average. That being said, I am a bit ambivalent about the taste. Sure, it’s got a few things I like, but it’s not something that I would go out of my way to have again.
This review was originally published on Steepster by Joshua Smith on May, 2012. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from Joshua Smith.
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This tuocha is big. The first very short steep after the rinse is a dark brown purplish color. It’s so fragrant of leather, I can’t help thinking of horse stables, the smell of heavy duty leather that worn saddles are made of. It’s rich and bold. I get a faint sweetness, reminiscent of ripe figs or dates. Also very woodsy. It’s very accessible I would say, a good quality everyday tea that I enjoy a lot!
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Thank you Teavivre for this sample again! I know I had rated this before, but it has been a while since I revisited this tea. I have one more sample of this mini cake left after this. I love the small round cakes with the semi-hollow center.
Dry, it smells like nori and earthy. I rinsed it for a little less than a minute and let the cake soften and unfurl a bit. The bits that fell off were small but larger than CTC leaves. The liquid was a dark amber color. It tasted sweeter than other pu-erhs that I’ve tried… almost like berries in the background mixed with nuts and cacao bits. The earthiness isn’t that strong. One of the things I did notice in the beginning was a sort of cardboard like flavor that quickly disappeared. I will steep this again later. I brewed this in a mug, but this tea can withstand multiple steepings. I added some sugar and milk to this after, which seemed to bring out the berry flavors even more. Good tea overall.
This review was originally published on Steepster by oOTeaOo on February 26, 2013. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from oOTeaOo.
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Much bolder than Teavivre's other Pu-Erhs. I like it. Great price as well. I will definitely be getting some more of this in my next order.
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Bit disappointed with this tea. I like earthy Pu-erh flavours but this one tasted stale, oxydized, old almost. Maybe the pressing into a shape does not do that tea any favours?
Teavivre answer:
This tea is oxidized for a long time, and it contents the flavor of pile fermentation. This is the flavor. Not for the shape. Thank you.
Rating :
This was my first time drinking pu-erh tea and i did not really know what to expect. So far I haven’t had very pleasent experiences with black teas and I wasn’t sure how pu-erh compared to black. I can tell you now that they don’t. This pu-erh took me off guard and pleasantly surprised me!
The dry disk was a hard brick of dark tea with a noticeable earthy smeel. To be honest, the smell had me nervous but my fears were quite unfounded.
I rinsed the tea first then steeped it at 212 for 1.5 minutes. The leaves broke up pretty well I would say but I might rinse it more next time to provoke the breaking more. The liquid was an incredibly dark brown with a earthy smell. Now at this point I really had no idea what to expect. The taste was earthy with a slight fishy sweetness and not bitter at all!
The second was at 208 for 1 minute and broke the tea up completely. It did not lose any flavor at all! I’m sure this could be steeped over and over for awhile. I look forword to much more pu-erh in the future!
This review was originally published on Steepster by Hippie_Samfro on May, 2012. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from Hippie_Samfro.
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I am not a big fan of pu-erh yet, but this is one was palatable to me. It seemed more like a black tea than many other puerhs I've tried, and it wasn't as strong as others. Some puerhs have held a fishy note - none of that here, thankfully.
I found this to have a lot of notes that remind me of barns, but in a positive way. I thought of damp sweet hay and natural wood/earth. It seemed very clean and organic, and not as much like coffee as I expected. My nest collapsed a bit more easily than expected, but it yielded three good steeps in a gaiwan, with a fourth lacking in flavour but still drinkable.
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I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. I bough samples months ago, and then bought a whole bag recently because I liked it so much.
This tea smells like dirt- IN A GOOD WAY! It's as if I'm gardening when I drink this tea. It is an earthy tea that fills you with warmth- perfect for the colder winter months. Will definitely order again.
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Free sample generously provided to me by Teavivre. Thanks so much!
Preparation notes: 2 of the 4 enclosed tuo cha in 500 ml. water in my Breville at the below parameters.
Dry leaf: My only other run in with pu erh tea was with a Teavana blend roughly a year ago. It was a fruit blend, and in loose leaf form, not a cake, so I guess you could say this is my first authentic pu erh experience.
The tuo cha are small – maybe the size of a quarter, or slightly larger. The immediate scent that came to mind was fishy, which my boyfriend interpreted as food pellets. There were also notes of dirt. Very organic smelling.
Steeped tea: I opted toward the later steeping time with this one, and though it isn’t bitter, I’m thinking I might have gone a little strong and would probably dial it back next time. This brewed up a dark brown to black color which totally shocked me, even though it had been noted by others. I guess I just didn’t think it would be possible to get so dark despite the short steep time.
The predominant smell from the steeped tea is that of the hamster food pellets my boyfriend smelled initially. The fishy smell is displaced more toward the background, with hay and dirt taking the center stage. It smells a touch sour, too.
Surprisingly, given how dark it is, it doesn’t taste astringent or bitter. Just…strong, with a full mouthfeel. It seems like a midway point between black tea and coffee. The taste itself does have some earth on the swallow, otherwise, think a very strong black tea, with the accompanying maltiness and smoothness that it has when steeped properly, and you will have an accurate picture of what this tastes like as well.
I understand why people say that pu erh is an acquired taste. In my case the taste wasn’t the issue – it was the smell I’ll have to get used to. After my experience with Teavana I had written this type of tea off completely, but it turns that I may actually like them after all. I think further exploration is in order!
This review was originally published on Steepster by JoonSusanna on January, 2012. TeaVivre add this whole review here by getting permission from JoonSusanna.
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For a ripened tuocha, this is a solid and tasty puerh. I will definitely be coming back for more. I could drink this every day.
Great price too!