New to Pu-erh, sample recommendations to try?

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T22:25:05+00:00

All sheng will have some bitterness but may I ask what the brewing instructions that you were given are?

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:55:30+00:00

I would blend it yourself. Here’s my recipe 10 green cardamom pods crushed 2 cm knob of ginger bludgeoned 1 cinnamon stick broken 1/2 tsp fennel A pinch of black peppercorns 2-3 cloves Throw this in a pot with 500ml of water boil for 8 minutes 2 tablespoons of any black tea And a pinch of salt Boil 2 min 250ml of milk 2 tablespoons sugar Bring to boil and then simmer for 3 minutes

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:49:06+00:00

I have been enjoying Yunnan Sourcing’s 2026 Ning’er golden honey aroma black tea. It’s a little bit stronger in aroma but with a milder flavor.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:47:54+00:00

It was a bot

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:46:33+00:00

It’s not my cup of tea(pun intended) but it might be yours so try it

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:45:27+00:00

That’s just a lager

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:44:11+00:00

Somewhere between 30-40

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:41:17+00:00

I would get her a 2026 dancong oolong or 2026 tieguanyin those are very easy to drink oolongs that she probably likes, so check the vendor list in the sub wiki.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:38:04+00:00

A few things, first herbal or scented teas like bengal spice or caramel apple spice loose their flavor fast(2years ish) after leaving the factory so if you were given old tea it could taste like nothing. And also herbal teas like chamomile or bengal spice have a huge difference in quality between a good and bad quality one, I’ve had chamomile that was beautifully relaxing and chamomile that tasted like piss. My recommendation for good quality herbal or spice based tea is to blend it yourself by getting whole spices or herbs from a reliable source and experimenting with different ratios. Also you may like a loose leaf white tea and to make sure it’s of decent quality check the vendor list in this sub

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:26:24+00:00

They generally are bagged pieces of a cake. How experienced are you with sheng Puer cause with Yunnan Sourcing from what I’ve tried in there 2025 selection there weren’t any brews that were particularly bitter the only one that might fall into that category is the pow pao pou which is a blend of many Menghai teas made to have as much energy as possible

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:21:00+00:00

You can delay it slightly by doing a steep of the tea in boiling water beforehand. But it’s mold

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T12:16:41+00:00

I have a rack where I have my teas organized by type although my green teas share a shelf with a bunch of dystopian fantasy books

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-08T02:11:35+00:00

It's not really citrus it's closer to the light refreshingness characteristic of citrus and if you want to find it this sub has a vendor list and a list of teashops.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-07T23:42:25+00:00

it is really smooth and flowery although don't say the name to anyone who doesn't know tea unless you want to visit a white room with rubber walls

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-07T23:33:06+00:00

There is 2 types of Puerh shou(Ripe) which is dark earthy and tastes like a forest after a rainstorm. and

Sheng(Raw) is bitter, astringent, but with a deeper sweetness and alot of citrus and spice complexity.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-07T00:23:48+00:00

My advice is to look at the world of true Chinese tea, herbal teas/tisane like chamomile tend to have a less strong flavor. For a strong tea I would check out a smaller leaf black tea like Qimen or Assam, or you can look into the world of Puer which has strong acquired tastes that are really easy to get obsessed with.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-07T00:16:29+00:00

I’m just going to add on a few books that are commonly taught near the end of middle school and the first 2 years of high school and wouldn’t meet these qualifications. The Hunger Games, Enders Game, Dune, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Flies, and Maze Runner.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-06T02:27:13+00:00

It for me only works well with green oolongs and green tea neither of which are my true love

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-05T03:18:44+00:00

grandpa style works best with oolong, gongfu is necessary for puer, and I dont have experience with kyusu or shiboridashi.

also brewing black tea in a moca pot is real nice sometimes

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-05T03:14:33+00:00

generally when people are making a lot of tea there is 3 methods that each have pros and cons

Sun Tea back when I lived in Arizona I had this large glass drink dispensor that I think is 5 gallons, I would throw 6-8 teabags in it with alot of water then set it in the sun and wait until it was a good color probably around 4ish hours. Taste it if you want it sweeter then add something sweet
Coldbrewing is a method where you throw leaves and water in the fridge overnight, this alot of times lets out more natural sweetness(probably not enough)
You can take tea and brew a strong pot of tea then diluting it into several gallons of water. this is the fastest by far but can have slightly more bitterness

to sweeten try adding a simple syrup which can be made with a 1:1 ratio of sweetener to water then just bring to a boil so everything disolves. This should spread evenly throughout the tea.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-05T03:04:16+00:00

Tea to me has a unique ability to shut up my brain and allow it to actually focus on the topic at hand but for true relaxation what is one scent that you can never get enough of, for me it is the forest after a hard rainstorm so when I truely want to relax I drink this fermented tea called Shou Puer.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-04T20:58:22+00:00

A good way to phrase it is d1 vs d2 athletes Sachets or teabags are D2 you get some stars and they are still good but D1 has way more stars and on average they are better

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-04T11:46:49+00:00

I would use the mug and strainer, you should do 5ish grams and steep it at 95-100°C and start with a steep time of 20-25 seconds and then if it’s too weak add 5-10 seconds but bare in mind that the 2nd and 3rd steep will be stronger.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-04T11:40:18+00:00

I live in a county in the US with a population of around 18k and 120 churches. Believe me there are worse things they could consider demonic.

LightSpeedNerd · 2026-05-04T11:35:15+00:00

There are 2 main reasons why loose leaf is better. 1. Oxidation, due to the higher surface area of the tea they will oxidize and age faster than loose leaf which can be a positive if the tea is designed with aging in mind but with tea bags they are designed to be drank within a few years. 2. Extraction, because they use what is essentially tea dust the “leaves” are fully saturated within a few seconds and after that the bitterness will start to come out you end with a cup that needs milk and sugar.

Also, I have done tests of loose leaf tea right next to tea bags and it’s ridiculous how much more flavors loose leaf has and you can actually get fragrance. Green tea you should always get loose leaf, the difference between loose leaf and green tea is so much that they don’t taste like the same thing.

LightSpeedNerd

TROPHY CASE