Pu-Ehr Matcha

Excellence Tea

$10.00USD for 50 grams

Everyone has their favorite type(s) of tea. Whether it is green, white, black, oolong, herbal you develop a taste for a type and most people tend to stick with it. If you follow me on Instagram, you know my absolute obsession with all things Matcha. My newly found favorite is Pu-Ehr. I have always had a “like” for Pu-her, since my Teavana Days. But those were typically flavored. It would be a few years before I experienced a pure, real pu-ehr tea. It was immediately love.

I came across Excellence Tea on Instagram. They are a tea company based out of Switzerland. I’d been following them for awhile when I came across a post that caught my attention. Pu-Ehr Matcha. WHAT?! I was so excited! My two favorite teas TOGETHER! But their flavors are so different. I couldn’t really imagine what that would taste like. So I sent them a message asking about it and I ended up purchasing 50grams. I was SO excited! I could not WAIT for it to get here.

Packaging

My Pu-Ehr Matcha arrived in a heat sealed brown paper pouch. The pouch is light proof and has a Ziploc so is resealable, thank goodness. The label told me the name of the tea, the weight amount, and an e-mail to re-order. I wish there had been steeping instructions on the bag, but I’ll get to that later. The package was then wrapped with stickers that gave a bit more information about the Matcha. It is Pure, Organic, Ceremonial Grade Matcha. The best.

When I opened the bag, I was greeted by a cloud of green Matcha powder. Yay! That was also the only smell I was able to get. The vegetal green smell of the Matcha completely overpowered any aroma of the Pu-Ehr. Which was not a bad thing, but I did enjoy the smell of the Pu-Ehr itself once the Matcha had been steeped out. I was ready to get started!

How to Brew

Now here is where it gets funny, and embarrassing. Matcha brews at 175º but there isn’t really a “brew time”. Since it is a powder you pour in an ounce of water and whisk until it is slightly frothy. Pu-Ehr steeps at 195ºF (sometimes higher) for 3-5 minutes. So, What do you do?? I went with the lower temperature, but made the mistake of steeping for 3 minutes. It was TERRIBLE. Super bitter. I was so disappointed. But before I gave up on it I contacted Excellence Tea to see if, perhaps, it was something I did. It was absolutely my mistake. The company came back and told me to steep for 20 seconds. That is a HUGE difference from 3 minutes. I was super embarrassed but so glad that it was me.

So, I dumped the tea leaves that I ruined and I tried again!

In the beginning, the leaves were covered in Matcha so they were a beautiful, vibrant green color. After the first steeping, you could see the rich browns and reds of the pu-ehr tea leaves. As the leaves unraveled you were able to see how beautiful they were. The company told me that this is an oolong leaf from 2010! I love the aged qualities of the tea. It really came out in the richness of the flavor.

The REAL Experience

I had my 175ºF water and a timer set for 15 seconds so that I could get all the tea out of the Gaiwan by 20 seconds. I had to laugh at myself when I looked at the newly brewed tea. The first cup I made looked like a really dark cup of coffee. This cup was so much lighter while still being a beautiful deep amber color.

I could still smell the Matcha but there was a darkness to it. It wasn’t sweet, but it was incredibly pleasant. The first sip, of the properly brewed, Pu-Ehr Matcha was night and day compared to what I had previously tried. There was zero astringency. I could taste the Matcha but I could aslo taste the darker pu-ehr. I immediately re-steeped the leaves to see what the next steeping would taste like. This steeping was almost sweet. There was less of the vegetal flavor from the Matcha. And the aroma had changed. It was much more leafy, like an oolong or black tea with a slight coffee aftertaste. I was so happy with the flavor and so excited that my two favorite teas blended so well together!

Pu-Ehr Matcha was definitely a learning experience for me. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I had asked before I brewed.

The Best Energy Boost!

Both Pu-Ehr and Matcha are known for their energy boosting properties. I felt it almost immediately, I had a ton of energy!  I wanted to get busy and DO something! This will make an AMAZING morning tea! A coffee lover would do well with this tea. I do not recommend trying this past noon unless you want to be up well into the night.

I can not wait to make this again! It is such a fast an easy tea to make! It only takes 20 seconds and it is PERFECT! I will absolutely be ordering more of this and keeping it on hand. It will be a morning go-to for sure.

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