2018 F_D_T Raw Puerh
White2Tea
No Longer Available

I had the opportunity to try one of White2Tea’s puehr teas in my May Sipsby box. Since I enjoyed it so much I decided to join White2Tea’s Monthly Tea Club. For $29.99 you receive different teas each month from their company. This 50g 2018 F_D_T Raw Puer Cake was my October 2018 Tea Club Tea! This tea was ONLY available to Tea Club Members so it is not available to purchase on their website.

Packaging

My 2018 F_D_T Raw Puerh tea arrived nicely packaged in a sturdy box. Inside the box my tea was wrapped in a bamboo tong, inside a pouch, inside bubble wrap. NOTHING was getting to this tea until I was ready to break into it!

I opened it immediately out of curiosity even though it would be a few months before I was finally able to try it. The aroma was sweet and earthy. It had a sweet floral smell to it. It is a very young tea, as described in the inserted paperwork, and it smelled very similar to a white tea. Sweet, floral, fruity. I love Puerh teas and couldn’t wait to actually sit down with it!

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The cake itself was gorgeous! Look at those colors!! There is a rainbow of colors in this cake!

How To Brew

White2Tea recommends using 1g of tea for each 15ml of water. I picked off about 6g of tea for my session. There is a warning in the description that due to the teas youth it can be very acrid if brewed at near boiling. It recommends using 185*F temperature water if you want to avoid the sharp bitter flavor. Since I am not a big fan of bitter and really wanted to enjoy my first encounter with this tea I went with a lower temperature. I went around 190*F to see what I could get from it.
Puerh teas need a quick rinse before their initial steeping. I rinsed my 2018 F_D_T Raw Puerh for about 5 seconds to help wake up the leaves. After the initial steeping steep times start around 15seconds and go up in 5-10second increments from there depending on your preference.

The Experience

White2Tea’s 2018 F_D_T Raw Puerh steeped to a deep yellow color. I had mixed feelings regarding this tea. Initially, it is incredibly bitter making it difficult to sip. Even at the lower temperature I had a difficult time enjoying this tea. However, the later infusions left a sweet floral/fruity aftertaste on the tongue that surprised me a bit considering the initial flavor. The aftertaste kept me going back to see if I could taste it as I sipped. There was also a bit of a heaviness to it. There was a thickness that stuck around on the tongue that reminded me of whipped butter.

Knowing that the astringency is due to the youth of the tea, I am holding off on making a final decision on this tea. I am putting it away for awhile to see what happens to it as it ages. It is my hope that age will sweeten this Raw Puerh and make it more enjoyable to sit and sip. This was definitely an experience for me. I much prefer an aged puerh and tend to stay away from freshly pressed due to the astringency factor. For daily drinking, I’ll stick with my aged teas.

If you are curious about Puer teas, White2Tea is a great company to check out! They have a fantastic selection of Raw and Ripe as well as Aged and Young Puer teas. And their Tea of the Month Club is a great way to introduce yourself to a wide variety of teas selected for their unique properties.

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