I always thought it was pronounced “poo air”. That’s what I’ve heard Kevin Rose call it. I would ask him if you have questions about the tea and how it should be.

Really enjoyed your honest remarks on Puerh tea. Although unfortunately you have yet to find a Puerh tea that you like that was an entertaining and funny presentation.

Admittedly Puerh tea is an acquired taste and does take some getting use to. That said from your descriptions I wonder about the quality of the black puerh teas you tried. Still it’s altogether possible that you simply don’t enjoy the characters of a black puerh.

If you are still interested I’ll be happy to send a free introductory sample. Simply send me an email with your mailing address.

For the latest news, articles, brewing tips and happenings in the world of Puerh come and visit us at http://www.puerhcha.com

Best regards,

Varat
Puerh Cha

Puerh is normally brewed “gongfu-style” in a very small pot, with lots of leaf and very short infusion times (~5 second). What you have been drinking is “shu” pu-erh which undergoes a process to quickly ferment the leaf to resemble a 30 year old puerh. We call this “shu,” or “cooked” puerh. It is generally not good. There are a few good ones out there, which I can point you towards if you’d like. I believe you two would enjoy an “uncooked” or “raw” puerh much more.

If you want to continue with shu puerh, give that leaf a good long “rinse,” which is basically an infusion with boiling water which you dump out instead of drinking. Try a 30 second rinse, then your normal infusion time.

For your reference, I use a 100ml pot, fill it about 1/3 with leaf, then do 2 quick rinses, followed by “flash” infusions (water in, tea out).

I made a modest video detailing this and more: http://youtube.com/watch?v=s4hqSsrG2HU

There’s my 2¥,
Wes

I agree (again I think) with Wes. Puerh steeps in seconds, and each steeping has a different flavor profile.. usually earthy and nutty. You can probably get an infuser and literally just dunk it in once :P

I think that it’s fair to say that those that enjoy this will have past experiences with camping or other earthy adventures such that tastes like ‘wet paper’ ‘horse barns’ and ‘campfire’ ‘earthy’ are actually endearing.

But again, Puerh is very strong and only has to steep for seconds (gongfu=water in-water out.)

Ditto the agreement with Wes. I always toss the initial brief steep, then consume the subsequent batches. I got my start with puerh from trying chrysanthemum puerh tea in bags from the local asian store. It tastes *totally* different than straight puerh tea, it’s shocking. I would try green puerh also, Teasource sells the small round cakes.

Wow, Varat, what a great site! I”ll be visiting again soon..