Steve Hay wrote:
> I just retried the Specialteas Pu-Erh Tuo Cha in a final attempt to
> appreciate this tea before giving up entirely on it for another year.
> This time, I rinsed it in freshly boiling water for 30 seconds before
> drinking it, and steeped it in boiling water for 6 minutes each steeping.
>
> Finally, I was able to taste this tea without the need to throw it
> away.. Previously, I had just not been able to enjoy this tea due to
> its (shall I say) earthy tones. This time, for some reason (I don't
> clearly remember how/if I rinsed the tea before), it came out much
> better. The earthiness was appropriately subdued enough to drink, and
> the complexities of the tea started to come out. Obviously, I'm a
> beginner at Pu-Erh (and tea in general, if that makes sense), but I get
> the sense this tea is probably too straightforward for me. If I am
> going to taste something earthy, I want it also to be complex and
> interesting, with other flavors in the profile (wine term?). I look
> forward to some Green and White Pu-Erh tea I have in the mail from IPOT,
> and who knows, maybe I will actually give some other Black Pu-Erhs a
> try, now that I know I can drink them with an appropriate rinse.

This was my first pu-erh, and though I liked it I've come to enjoy just
about every other black pu-erh more than this one. I'm not saying that
special teas' pu-erh is bad, just that there's a whole world of it
waiting for you to try.

-ben