The best Pu-erh I've tried in a tea bag.

A sample from the Philadelphia Coffee & Tea Festival. The tea bag is not at all aromatic, but upon brewing, the cup becomes much more interesting.

Aroma is like a rather typical young sheng Pu-erh, a lightly aged green Pu-erh. The aroma is fresh and grassy, with a hint of smoke, a dusty quality, and a hint of floral and mushroomy notes. There's none of the "damp basement" quality of most ripened (black) Pu-erh, but it is dustier than most raw (green) Pu-erh.

Flavor is quite bold. There's a light bitterness, and it's also quite sour. Not initially sweet, like described, but a sweetness does come out in the finish.

Finish is quite astringent, but in a pleasantly refreshing way. Some really pleasant aromatic notes also linger in the finish, almost hinting at caramel. The tea also leaves a slight tingling sensation on the palate.

I really enjoyed this. It's a flat tea bag and I didn't expect much, and the aroma is a bit flat, but it really seems to capture the essence of raw Pu-erh for me. I can see this tea being a much better introduction to Pu-erh than the low-quality black or ripened Pu-erh tea bags that dominate the market here in the U.S. Still pales in comparison to buying an actual cake of whole-leaf tea, but good for what it is.

Resteeps surprisingly well for a tea bag--you need to let it steep a long time. This tea comes out pretty strong so I can see some people doing less than the recommended 5 minute first steep. If you steep the second cup long enough, I found it plenty flavorful. It may not be whole-leaf tea but this resteeped better than any other flat tea bag full of finely-broken leaf.

Price? Good compared to other tea bags of similar quality, but it seems silly when you can go to Yunnan Sourcing and pick up a (huge) cheap cake of some sheng for around the same price as this box of tea bags. I understand though that a purchase like that can be intimidating and inaccessible for some people though. Not something I'd buy for myself, but I'm glad this product exists and I hope it can introduce a lot of tea bag drinkers to the world of Pu-erh.

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