Pu Erh - Pu-Erh Tea 100 g - Café du Jour Loose Tea

What pu-erh tea is

Pu-erh tea is the one category of tea that is meant to age. The leaf comes from Yunnan in south-west China and goes through a controlled maturing process rather than being dried and sold straight on, and that is what gives it its umber colour and its earthy character. This one is pure pu-erh: a single ingredient, with nothing blended into it.

What it tastes like

The cup is a deep red-brown, closer to chestnut than to the amber of an everyday black tea, and the aroma is intense and distinctly earthy. The taste is very full and at the same time mild: it has the weight of a strong tea without the sharp bitterness a young leaf can bring. If you already drink your black tea strong, this is a sensible place to go next.

Brewing it

Use roughly 2 to 3 g of leaf per 200 ml of water, heated to about 90 to 95°C, which is just off the boil, and give it two to three minutes for the first pour. Pu-erh rewards re-steeping more than most teas: keep the wet leaves and pour again, and the second and third cups come out different from the first rather than simply weaker. As a loose-leaf tea it needs a pot with a filter, an infuser or a strainer.

At a glance

• Type: matured loose-leaf pu-erh tea
• Origin: Yunnan, China
• Ingredient: pu-erh tea, nothing added
• Net weight: 100 g
• In the cup: deep red-brown, chestnut hue
• Aroma: intense and earthy
• Taste: very full and mild
• Brewing: 2 to 3 g per 200 ml at 90 to 95°C, two to three minutes, good for repeat infusions
• Packed by Café du Jour in Maasland, the Netherlands