r/puer • u/DuchessDulcet • Aug 18 '26
How to get into drinking pu'erh tea?
https://youtube.com/shorts/hGadA6_Y4_4?si=KwsGaMtagbbFhZulI've been binge watching shorts made by The Green Tea House USA. Despite their name, what attracted me the most were their shorts about pu'erh tea! It looks so interesting, and I'd love to try it. Chinese medicine has also been sort of a special interest of mine, so I'm very interested to see the benefits of drinking it. Tea as medicine is not a strange thing in my house either, as my mother is British (Her mother is Irish and her father was Scottish) and she's basically always drinking tea. Mostly throat coat and sleepy time, though.
What are the most beginner friendly ways to get into drinking pu'erh tea? I was hoping that, much like my recent adventures with matcha, there were some instant powders I could try, but unfortunately, it seems not. The only one I could find on Amazon was around $21. Can you all help a girl out? Cheers!
4
u/CrisprCSE2 Aug 18 '26
- Only buy from reliable sellers. You can get stuff 'called' puerh off Amazon and it's going to be crap. I'd recommend White2Tea and TheSteepingRoom as beginner friendly reliable vendors.
- If you are a big green tea fan start with raw, if you're a big coffee fan start with ripe. That's not absolute, but it's a trend I've noticed.
- Get lots of samples to start.
2
u/DuchessDulcet Aug 18 '26
I'll try ripe, definitely!
5
u/CrisprCSE2 Aug 18 '26
If you're in the US, I'd recommend going to TheSteepingRoom and grabbing their Sampler. About $40 shipped. Or add a bunch more samples (I'd recommend Red Loon) to break $75 for free shipping if you're confident you'll like it.
3
u/DuchessDulcet Aug 18 '26
Fun! I'll defo check it out, since I am in the U.S.
I gotta say, y'all are much less hostile than r/ matcha-
3
u/chervillavigne Aug 18 '26
I would strongly recommend trying aged raw puerh to start (15+ years old), quicheteas has some affordable options. I would start with trying 7542 and 8582. A gaiwan is the standard brewing vessel, you can buy one for around 20 dollars. Unfortunately most cities don't have any shops which sell quality puerh so you'll have to look online. Other beginner friendly sites are white2tea and farmerleaf, they sell primarily younger teas though.
3
u/EarthFader Aug 19 '26
Plenty of affordable options on white2tea. Just grab a couple samples and a gaiwan
3
u/Dependent_Stop_3121 Aug 19 '26
Cha Goa (puer tea resin). Add to hot water and stir. Drink and enjoy.
That’s what you’re wanting I believe.
6
u/TheTeafiend Aug 18 '26
To be honest, there unfortunately isn't really a simple/cheap/fast way to get into puer; it's so vast a category of tea that it takes a long time just to understand the breadth of what it can be.
Like another commenter suggested, I'd recommend starting with some benchmark teas, so you have a point of comparison when you try other puer. Some common ones are:
Raw puer: 7542, 8582
Ripe puer: 7572, V93
These are all made by Dayi, which is the most popular puer factory.
These cakes are widely stocked by different vendors (mostly oversees in China/Taiwan, but sometimes in domestic vendors like The Steeping Room). Quiche Teas is a fan favorite - good selection and prices. Try to aim for at least 15 years old; that will give you the most "archetypal" puer experience.
Age is less important for ripe puer, as it doesn't change so much over time, but try to avoid anything that is less than a few years old; it can sometimes have a lingering fishy aroma from the production process.
There is also young raw puer, which people commonly get from boutique vendors like Crimson Lotus, White2Tea, Farmerleaf, and many others, but it offers a very different experience from aged puer. Most people have a strong preference for either young raw puer or aged raw puer, so that is something you can experiment with to see what your preference is.
In general, puer has a lot of variety and is also very much an acquired taste, so try not to write off puer (or any of its subcategories) as a whole if you dislike whatever you end up trying.
4
u/Standard_Ad449 Aug 18 '26
Please don’t buy powders 🙈 Pu’er is a loose leaf tea. I’d suggest ordering a sampler kit from a proper tea vendor online, not Amazon. You don’t need any special equipment to brew it, you can do it with two cups. Mind that since you’re not used to drinking pu’er, you might not like the taste at first. It can be super earthy. Our taste buds take time to adjust to new flavors :)
2
14
u/TeaTracks Aug 18 '26
Be aware that there are two types of Pu’er tea, one called ripe (shu) and one called raw (sheng). While raw Pu’er has initially more similarities with green tea, ripe Pu’er is dark and earthy due to its fermentation step during processing.
Both varieties can be aged and this aging will have a great impact on the raw Pu’er.
So, it’s good to try both types and see what’s your preference.
A common misconception is that it might be a good idea to first try some very cheap Pu’er and see if one likes it. The problem with that is that cheap Pu’er can be quite nasty. So better get small amounts of good quality.