Yunnan Pu-Erh Premium Loose Leaf Black Puer Tea - Fermented and Aged Chinese Pu’er Tea (100g)

Excellent tea at a good price

Great flavor

I've drunk Pu-erh every day for the last decade, and am always on the look out for decently priced versions that don't have to be specially imported from China. This looks pretty decent at first glance - it's not top quality, but it's well priced for a tea of this grade that's directly available from UK seller. Nonetheless it's disappointing, as we'll see. If you aren't used to Puerh, it's an earthy, rich tea that can take a little getting used to, but is very satisfying indeed after that. This is a gentle one - so though other reviewers have noticed that they found the fermentation smell a bit much, this is actually not too pungent at all: it's on the gentle, rich side, and, had the scent and flavour not been slightly wrong (see below) it would be a good introduction to Puerh. Again, if you are new to Puerh, don't try this with milk - this is not black tea, in the sense that most British tea is - it's a very different flavour profile and much less bitter. The leaf is a little too pale and there's a fair bit of twig included; but, again, that's not too surprising for a UK-available loose-leaf puerh. I've brewed it gong-fu style, 8 grams or so in a gaiwan, and it does give a decent number of infusions. And yet... Once brewed, the aroma and taste is where things really go wrong - firstly, both are a little flat and weak; but more importantly, there is a subtle but annoying taste and smell of herbal teas - it's as if there is a gentle scent of chamomile and peppermint and something else contaminating it. This can happen easily - puerh absorbs scents very easily, so if this has been stored at some point with herbal or scented teas, it could easily have absorbed their flavour. I don't know, of course, if that's what happened here, but it's not quite the earthy rich flavour that it ought to have. The price is still ok; it's not too bad as loose leaf puerh goes, it's just a bit of a dissapointment.

Gift for mum, she enjoys it. Not 5 starts b/c it was hard to open and cut myself in the process 😅

Very nice tea. Will definitely buy it again

The Tea has a very strong, off-putting "fishy" smell that I did not experience with any other brands before. That is a sign of low quality or improper storage. Would not buy it again.

Value for the money. I've tried from different retailers. And this one is exactly a Pu Erh. Not the best one but pretty much

It has a rich, mellow, smooth taste which works well without milk. It is darker in the cup than some, but that doesn't equate to any bitterness. The tea leaves are bigger than some so there are no little bits to escape through the strainer, and they are easier to knock out of the strainer afterwards. When I'm at home I now look forward to a leisurely cup after lunch remembering the poem: "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, As if it is the axis of which the world revolves. Slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the Future; Live the actual moment. Only this moment matters"