2016 Ripe (Shou) Pu'er Tea - Naturally & Ethically Grown From Wild Tea Trees near Bulang Mountain in Yunnan, China

This is not a bad puer, but not a great one. I would rate it higher if the price was on par with others like it. At 200g for $40+ I expect a lot better (.20 cents per gram). This is average flavor or below for a tea of its type - ripe puer 2016. The packaging is very nice and looks more expensive than it needs to be.

I was introduced to a Puer tea by a friend. I wasn't sure of the type of the tea I had tried but when I found this Puer tea online I was very intrigued by the description of the tea flavor and aroma, the history and harvest story, as well as the organic factor, so thought I would give it a try. So happy that I did! The tea flavor and aroma is everything described. Wasn't sure how much to break off of the tea cake so started with about about two teaspoons in a French press, then added 16 oz. boiling water. Might not be the correct way to make this tea, but the aroma bloomed immediately, so wonderfully rich, made it hard to wait for the steeping process. For me this tea also has a smoky, coffee like flavor (without the acid) and a gentle energy lift. I will be sharing this with family and friends.

I bought this tea after falling in love with Stash Tea's recently discontinued "Pu-ehr Sticky Rice Tuo Cha Raw" tea. My initial impression of the Stash tea was "(sip) whoa, what a weird flavor (sip) not sure I like it (sip) not too bad (sip) I think I like it" and two weeks later I was buying as many bags of the tea online as possible.Similar reaction to this 2016 ripe puehr. The flavor is far more pungent than even the Stash pu-ehr (which I now find mild and pleasant), so I went through the whole gamut of reactions before settling into this tea. I found that blending increasing amounts of this puehr with more mild green teas helped the transition.This is a very dark tea, by the way. Very dark, very pungent. I was expecting a dark green, but this is as black as tea gets.Worth a try, imho.

This cake is made of almost all stems. Still tastes okay.

Not so great...

After our group read "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane" by Lisa See we had to try Puer Tea. The tea has a very earthy smell as is the taste. There is an after taste that had a hint of honey. I will be saving the rest of the cake to see if it will mellow.

Been drinking Pu'erh tea (mostly the cheaper stuff, lately upgrading) for many years now and this is one I will re-order. Intense but mild, stands up to several infusions. Puerh worked for me as a replacement for coffee -- looks like coffee if you brew it thick, lots of caffeine, fewer jitters than espresso, far less bitter.

It is bold but smooth and has a wonderful aroma a bit earthy and sweet. This is a really great tasting tea. For the best results be sure to brew it properly. Try not to break the leaves, give the tea a good wash with boiling water at least one time before brewing for drinking. I really enjoyed this tea.