Pu-Erh Profiles: Getting Spooky With Tea

Picture a tea that’s been aged and fermented so long that you’re scared to ask if it’s still tea at all.

The answer: Yes, it is!

Pu-Erh is a resoundingly legitimate type of tea, and if you haven’t tried it yet— allow me to put the fear of FOMO into you for this spooky Halloween season! (FOMO being, “Fear Of Missing Out.” Not to be confused with YOLO, or “You Only Live Once,” but you can see how the two expressions might be related. Or at least, highly enabling of each other!)

Pu-Erh is known as what’s called “hei cha” in Chinese, or “dark tea.” This is different from regular black tea such as you might find at the base of Earl Grey, or the foundation of the wonderfully smoky Lapsang Souchong, however both of those are classified as black teas because they do not undergo the extra fermentation process after the total withering and oxidization of the leaves is complete.

(What makes this confusing for some folks is that the Chinese word for “fermentation” is used to describe that withering-and-oxidizing process already, before what we call “fermentation” — the controlled decay with the encouragement of beneficial bacterial growth— is under way. So that’s why I’m putting in this handy little explanation to prevent you from falling victim to lost-in-translation moments that are part of the fun of sharing tea— and tea language! — across cultures.)

And if we’re going to talk tea that you should be scared of missing out on, then Adagio’s collection of Pu-Erh is definitely a dark horse in every sense!

Here are some of my favorites!

Pu-Erh Dante

Pu-Erh Dante will always top this list for one very subjective and non-tea-related reason: the name.

If you’ve ever played the masterpiece video game Devil May Cry, that’s another thing you’re missing out on. The main character, Dante, is one of the pantheon of yes-I-want-to-be-that-cool-when-I-grow-up vigilante hero archetypes, who walks around in a red trenchcoat that may or may not be accompanied by cowboy boots and a corresponding hat that can give him the power to—among other things— moonwalk over his opponent’s attempts to have serious boss battles. (Nothing in Devil May Cry is meant to be serious.) This tea isn't named for this Dante, but I can't help but think of this game as I sip on this tea.

And if you’re wondering next if the tea looks and tastes anywhere as good at its name-buddy, let me just drop a “Yes” into your cowboy hat. And all it takes is some boiling water and a minute or two of steep time! No fancy brewing setups for the hardy Pu-Erh, just let ‘er rip and you can re-steep as many times as you like. This type of tea is meant to be enjoyed— like a good video game— over and over again.

Pu-Erh Hazelberry

There’s no way I’m not recommending this one for fall. It just sings with husky, crunchy-warm fall flavors to compete with any pumpkin spice pretender.

What I really love about it is the way the cream flavor comes in at the end to effectively meld all the strawberry and hazelnut notes together, kind of like a sundae! That means it also goes incredibly well with milk and sweetener, especially if you’ve just gotten started on adagiobees.com some seriously sweet honey options from Adagio Bees!

Pu-Erh Spice

Take a look at what I said about the previous tea and pumpkin spice pretenders, and tell me you didn’t see my next recommendation coming.

This is your guy for kicking the pants off all of those proposed pretenders, punting them promptly into the pantry from whence they came. If you have an adventurous spirit, then you don’t want to not try this hack: take a few teaspoons of this and substitute it into any pumpkin spice tea latte recipe— usually these would have you normally using straight black tea and blending it with carefully selected pumpkin spices, ideally from Selefina, and the latte-milk of your choice— and don’t say I didn’t warn you on how powerfully that’s going to rock your world.

Pu-Erh Chorange

This dude is a close second for brisk, spicey-fall-ey wake-’er-uppers that you definitely want to keep in your cabinet.

As someone who has the tenderest of soft spots for Earl Grey— because, come on, hanything that Picard drinks has to be worth the mythos around it— this tea hits the right notes for my nerdy palate by having the appearance of that classic cup, while still offering new, exciting flavors in the orange and chocolate taste profile. It definitely doesn’t taste like it looks— which is a good thing!

Pu-Erh Tahiti

Because who doesn’t want a hint of summer when the world is saying that “Winter is Coming”? (Which they’re actually not, at the moment, because we’re all occupied with House of the Dragon instead. Again, this is a good thing!)

I love how this tea is so good at creating a fruity flavor profile, but particularly because Adagio know how to put together a blend that isn’t heavy or overwhelming like a bad Christmas fruitcake— it’s too early in the year for that, right? Instead, it touches on all the right characteristics of what makes a good demi-tropical cup, and sends it on its way to us to be enjoyed during any season.

What’s your favorite Pu-Erh, or dark tea in general? Let me know in the comments!

Cheers!

Natasha Nesic

NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, Founder of Work Life Fitness